Obakeng Meletse
Wiaan Mulder has grown in leaps and bounds since he first picthed up as a professional cricket player, so-much-so that he now plays a pivotal role in the Proteas red ball set-up.
The Proteas kicked off their Tour of Bangladesh on a winning note. They will take a 1-0 lead heading into the second and final Test in Chattogram, starting on tomorrow. South Africa haven’t lost a Test match since their Tour of New Zealand, and they are still in with a chance to make the World Test Championship final, to be hosted at the home of cricket, Lord’s, in England next year.
Mulder made his Test debut in 2019 against Sri Lanka. He has since been in and out of the team, representing South Africa on 15 occasions in red ball cricket. His potential and all-round abilities have always made him a great prospect in South African cricket, and not only in the longer format but in all forms of the game.
The biggest change and improvement that has been obvious recently has been the consistency and the balance he has managed to strike in both his batting and bowling. His exploits with the ball handed South Africa the ascendancy in the first match, but it was his innings of 54 that not only rescued them from the pressure of the Tigers but ensured the Proteas had full control of the match.
The 25-year-old has credited his improvements to his mental strength and also some of the senior, experienced campaigners he has worked with previously.
“When I started international cricket, I was young and naive and didn't really understand what I was getting myself into,” Mulder said yesterday, while addressing the media.
“I couldn't really deal with the pressures, I would say. There were a couple of technical things I needed to change, and Mark Boucher played a big part in my development in terms of understanding my technique and what's required of me in the team environment.
“I had to go back into domestic cricket and England (County Cricket) to try and get better and understand my way of doing things. The last two seasons with Russell Domingo as head coach at the Lions have clarified a lot of my doubts and a lot of things I had to iron out on my game with Hashim Amla and Allan Donald.”
Speaking about the second Test match, Mulder doesn't expect a lot of spin from the Chattogram surface but believes the home side will create a pitch that suits their skills.
“A lot of our conversations have been about playing spin and getting better at playing it.
“It is important, especially with incoming tours against Pakistan and India. Statistically, this is a high scoring ground; judging from our net session today, there was a little bit of bounce but not a lot of nip like there was in Dhaka.
“Generally, if you base it purely on stats, it shouldn't spin as much as it did in the first Test, but they also want to win the Test match, so they might create a pitch that suits them. But we expect a pretty good wicket that will offer an even contest between bat and ball.”