Run a scalpel through Nadine de Klerk’s veins and you’ll probably encounter a block of rock-hard ice, unbothered by the inferno called World Cup cricket raging outside. It is quite something for a lower-order batter to come and save their side from impending defeat time and again, and do it in some style.
Two games. Two nights. The same coastal colosseum. One saw a fairly packed arena cheering on the local gladiators, while the other barely had any spectators, the crowd largely absent due to a lopsided pairing of rivals. However, South Africa – remarkably and frustratingly in equal measure – put on identical shows of spirit to walk away with victory, leaving its rivals in a spot of bother.
Against India, de Klerk walked in with 110 runs needed from 85 balls. Skipper Laura Wolvaardt, after a valiant 70-run knock, had just fallen with South Africa six wickets down, and a challenging Indian bowling order was starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. The Women in Blue kept the lid on the Proteas, with the asking rate climbing with each passing over.
South Africa needed 52 runs from the last five overs when the usually stingy Sneh Rana was handed the ball. De Klerk gave herself space and smacked the offie over cover for four and followed it up by smacking a tossed-up delivery over midwicket for six. Sneh pegged back, trapping a set Chloe Tryon leg before.
Harmanpreet Kaur turned to young Kranti Gaud to find a breakthrough. The pressure was evident with the pacer straying wide at the start. De Klerk then tore into her, with two massive sixes and a four, bringing up her half-century along the way.
India broke the momentum with Richa Ghosh going down, needing help with her hamstring. De Klerk was not amused and immediately walked up to the umpire, calling out her opponent’s tactics to slow the game down; flashbacks of the Men’s T20 World Cup, where Rishabh Pant got up to mischief of the same vein, still fresh for the Proteas.
Ayabonga Khaka promptly spent the duration of the break in play calming de Klerk down, by which time the blue shirts were all clumped up trying to orchestrate the South African allrounder’s dismissal.
But she was not to be stopped. She kept up to the required rate, picking 11 runs off Deepti Sharma, bringing the equation down to 12 runs needed off as many balls. Two effortless sixes off Amanjot Kaur sealed the deal for the Proteas, and de Klerk finished with an unbeaten 54-ball 84.
Mind you, this was a league game, but one that looked strikingly devoid of hope at times. The South Africans rushed onto the field like they’d won the tournament and wrapped up a soaking de Klerk in hugs and head rubs.
Nadine de Klerk during her match-winning knock against India in the World Cup.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
“It’s not good for the heart (laughs), but I do like being under pressure. I love the World Cups. No bigger stage than playing India at their home. We had to be at our best. We are capable of beating the best sides in the world. We just had to take it deep. We are a very good side in the backend,” the 25-year-old declared after the win.
The humid conditions in Vizag and the drama of it all took a massive toll, with de Klerk falling to the floor with cramps once the job was done.
It wouldn’t stop there. It was de Klerk to the fore again, four days later, against Bangladesh. Determined to create havoc in the semifinal race, Nigar Sultana Joty’s side posted a sluggish yet competitive 232/6. South Africa’s batting wobbled again, and the same characters – Wolvaardt, Tryon, and de Klerk with some help from Kapp – stepped up to the chase.
Once more, in walked de Klerk in the 41st over, with the Proteas needing 70 runs from 58 balls.
Her intent was there for all to see from the word go, as she targeted the square boundaries. She adeptly swept Fahima Khatun for four through backward square leg to help ease the stress on Tryon’s tired shoulders. But chaos ensued when Tryon, after being handed a reprieve by a dropped catch, was run out. The South African faithful and the dressing room all tightened up. Who would support de Klerk in her pursuit of an encore?
Masabata Klaas proved an able second fiddle, rotating strike and keeping the pace of the chase going for de Klerk. While the spinners squeezed the scoring spout, the odd boundary helped keep the rate manageable. De Klerk was then given a huge lifeline by Shorna Akter, who dropped a sitter off Rabeya Khan’s bowling at long-off. The cameras immediately panned to de Klerk, who had her heart in her mouth as she realised how lucky she was to escape.
There was no turning back from there as she whipped Nahida Akter for a four and a six to put the game to bed with an unbeaten 29-ball 37.
Tryon took home the player of the match award but promptly credited the side’s young firebrand. “Glad to have Nadine at the back doing what she does best,” she remarked.
Method to madness
“It comes quite naturally,” de Klerk later admitted. “That is my role in this side. I have to finish off the game.” She also concedes that this kind of chutzpah needs a bit of craziness, too!
“I just talk to myself like a weirdo. I don’t know how much they actually pick up on the stump mics,” she told Sportstar after the Bangladesh win.
“Sometimes, nerves do get the better of you. I have tried to focus on staying calm. So, whether I go in with 11 runs required from an over or five, I have tried to keep the same mentality, be positive, and put opponents on the back foot.
Nadine de Klerk during a practice session.
| Photo Credit:
K.R. DEEPAK
As all-rounders take control of the women’s game, de Klerk has had the benefit of working more with batting coach Baakier Abrahams on the impact she can have with the willow.
“The biggest change, if any, has been about changing how I take guard a bit so I can access more areas. That’s been a very key element for me,” she explained.
“We have also worked a lot on spin and playing off the back foot. We had a few camps in Durban where we just worked on tackling spin, and it’s evident in how we are tackling the tweakers.”
Thriving in transition
Formerly a javelin thrower, de Klerk settled into a life in cricket quite well and is always on the lookout for ways to contribute to her side’s cause. A seam-bowling allrounder, she is making her way in the international scene for a side that is still dealing with the retirement of pace ace Shabnim Ismail. For most of 2024, she was also juggling a higher volume of bowling duties, with Kapp dealing with injuries.
Life on the bench could only do so much to help her evolve as a cricketer.
“It’s very difficult to learn your own skill and your trade if you’re sitting on the sidelines. Over the last few years, I’ve played a lot more. I’ve gotten more confident in my game and how I want to play. There is a bit more freedom in the way I go about my business.”
Apart from being a mainstay in the Proteas senior squad, de Klerk is also a globetrotting franchise cricketer, having represented Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash, Oval Invincibles in The Hundred, and Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Women’s Premier League.
With totals across both white ball formats veering towards higher ceilings with each passing year, de Klerk finetuned her own skills with the willow.
“People will figure you out and try and exploit your weaknesses. You need to try and find a way. Sometimes you get out, sometimes you figure it out.
“I like to watch a lot of videos of my batting when I was struggling. What did I do? How did I get out of that difficult phase? Or what did I do when I couldn’t get out of that difficult phase? I try and revisit what I did in the past and put those pieces back together.”
A while ago, her go-to knock to revisit was an unbeaten 106 for The Blaze in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2024.
“I had a really lean patch building up to that. I was really struggling for runs, barely getting to double figures. I felt a bit down and out. In that inning, I struggled in the beginning. I was eight off 25 balls or something. I just couldn’t get the ball away. I remember thinking, ‘Let me stick it out. It’s going to get easier. Don’t feel pressure and throw your wicket away.’ It’s a 50-over game; I have time. I grew in confidence and eventually began finding the gaps, and went on to score a hundred. That knock was important, as a future reference point to revisit.”
Keeping things light
The South African dugout is not an easy place to be when the Proteas have their backs to the wall. Kapp, for instance, on a good day, might obliterate you with her poker face when running in to open the bowling. It’s a million times worse when South Africa is stuttering with the bat, and she isn’t in the middle of it to help. De Klerk loves to be the harbinger of good vibes even here.
“I like to make jokes. I am the loud one. I laugh really loudly, talk a lot. I think sometimes, people think, ‘Girl, please keep quiet.’ We have a few clowns within the side, but I love making jokes. I am pretty laid back and chill.”
That brief can get hard to follow in the middle of a tense World Cup campaign with so many emotions riding along. South Africa has made the semifinal in the last two 50-over World Cups and has fallen short in the final of the last two T20 showpieces. So, it is easy to understand why every win, every comeback, means that much more to this unit.
“We have a good saying going around within this side that your high shouldn’t be too high and your low shouldn’t be too low. I think it’s really important to remember that in professional sports. Being emotional comes with its challenges, but it’s absolutely worth it. Every time we sing the anthem, there’s so much emotion. We want to do well for our families back home,” she explained.
Courtesy of several clutch performances, South Africa has resurrected its campaign in the ongoing World Cup, but de Klerk believes there’s more to come from the side.
“Hopefully, we can keep winning and play our best cricket. I think our best is still to come, so I hope our best comes when it matters the most.”
