‘Wessie’ on the rise — Wiaan Mulder blossoming into a genuine all-rounder able to hold his own

When Wiaan Mulder made his first-class debut in 2016 as an 18-year-old matric pupil, there was a considerable burden of expectation on his young shoulders.

Just three summers before, South Africa’s greatest all-rounder, and arguably the greatest the game has seen, Jacques Kallis, had retired from the red-ball game.

Mulder was similar to Kallis: a top-order batter and a more-than-handy pace-bowling option. It was natural, then, for the comparisons to be made. The national team, as a matter of course, also struggled to replace the big man after his departure.

The comparisons were unfair and probably stunted Mulder’s development as a cricketer, trying to emulate a great before he had his own game figured out.

Mulder came with some prestige, too. He was a talented schoolboy and South Africa under-19 cricketer before Geoffrey Toyana, who was then the coach of the Lions, drafted him, school uniform and all, into the first-class side.

His rapid rise saw him debuting for the Proteas one summer later when he was 19, but he failed to cement his place in the Test side, despite the all-rounder position having been vacant for a long time.

However, since Shukri Conrad took over the reins as Test coach, not only has “Wessie”, as he is affectionately known in the Proteas camp, been a regular in the side, but the 27-year-old has also been handed added responsibility, which he has carried impressively thus far.

It was a surprising call for most when Mulder was handed the position to bat at No 3 in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s against Australia last month. And the surprise was justified. Not only was this arguably the biggest red-ball match in the country’s history, but Mulder had also only filled that role internationally on two occasions before that.

But Conrad thought the fit was perfectly natural, believing the sturdy right-hander had the technique for the job as well as balancing the team with an extra pace bowler.

Two centuries

It worked sufficiently well on that occasion, with Mulder scoring 27 runs in the second innings while chasing, and sharing a 61-run partnership with centurion Aiden Markram. In the context of a low-scoring match, it was a more-than-handy contribution with the bat.

Despite his performance in the WTC final, the question of whether Mulder will be a long-term success in the position was not answered.

He still averages just 22 with the willow in Test cricket.

A knock of equal part brutality and refinement in his very next match, a welcome 147 off 206 deliveries (including 17 fours and two sixes) against Zimbabwe, hasn’t quite shut the question down because of the quality of the opponents, but it has temporarily justified Conrad’s decision.

“I’ve worked really hard on my batting, I always have,” Mulder said after his knock. “I’ve been someone who batted in the top four, top five for most of my career [at provincial and age-group level].

“In the Test team I’ve always had to figure things out. Test cricket is incredibly hard… there are no easy runs in Test cricket.”

It’s Mulder’s second century for the country, having reached his maiden ton (105 off 150 balls) against Bangladesh on the subcontinent last October. That one came while he was batting at No 7, however.

“Having more than one century for my country is really special, especially in Test cricket,” Mulder said. “I’m going to keep pushing and trying to be better and stay greedy, as Temba [Bavuma] always says to me.

“Hopefully I can get another 100 soon and make it three in 12 months.”

In South Africa’s next Test match, against Sri Lanka at home, as he was beginning to establish himself, Mulder sustained a fractured middle finger while batting. He retired hurt on 15.

Mulder then insisted on going in early the next innings, as the pain in his finger wouldn’t hold until he was usually required to bat at No 7.

Conrad sent Mulder in at three and, despite him only scoring 15 runs off 31 deliveries, a spark went off in the coach’s brain.

“Shuks [Conrad] has had this view since I broke my finger that that’s our most balanced team,” Mulder confirmed.

Keeping it simple

Although he was considered a batting all-rounder for most of his junior career, strangely enough it was Mulder’s bowling that kept his place in the side. His bowling average hovered around 27 and his economy was regularly under three.

His ability to swing the ball, despite not having great pace, and being accurate for the most part, has seen him pick up important wickets while remaining economical. That’s because he has figured out his game with the ball, as he has similarly started to do with the bat.

“Never in my wildest dreams can I be KG [Rabada], Lungi [Ngidi], Marco Jansen, Nandre Burger… Those guys are unbelievable bowlers,” Mulder said. “I’m just trying to keep it as simple as I can… I try to bowl top of off-stump every ball with the odd bouncer, and get the ball to move both ways. That is my skill, that’s what I try to do,” he said.

“So when it comes to pressure, I actually feel more pressure when they’re around because the standard is just so high that if you’re a little bit off your mark… you look like an idiot.”

With the aforementioned bowlers absent, Mulder has shouldered more responsibility in Zimbabwe, even opening the bowling in the second innings. As the most senior player, he is keen to do whatever is necessary for the team to succeed.

“The important thing is that when the three big quicks come back, my responsibility as a bowler is a lot less,” Mulder said.

“To be honest, wherever I fit in in the South African team is where I want to play.

“It’s been my dream as a kid – it’s still my dream – to play for South Africa consistently. For me, it’s the pinnacle and that’s what I’ll try to do for as long as I can.

“If that means batting at No 3, then I’m going to do my best to stay in the team batting at No 3.”

Although comparisons to Kallis have subsided substantially in recent years, a strange twist of fate – thanks to a broken finger – has seen Mulder mould into the closest player to the iconic all-rounder the country has seen since Kallis’s retirement. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.