Wiaan Mulder’s mammoth 367 not out against Zimbabwe in the second Test in Bulawayo has catapulted him to record-breaking status on the world’s stage with the bat, all while captaining the Proteas, writes Alasdair Fraser.
Scoring a Test triple ton for your country as captain is one thing, but doing it at more than a run a ball is next level. It’s indicative of the type of hunger for runs that Mulder has always had in him, but now we are finally seeing it in the highest form of cricket.
There was a strong reaction from fans saying the new Proteas skipper should have gone for the record but it’s a real doff of the cap by Mulder to Brian Lara’s incredible 400* against England, which thankfully still remains the world record, and rightfully so as Mulder did it his way and for that he deserves a round of applause.
Mulder’s talent has been known for some time now, and I can recall multiple times in the sports department while editing the print versions of SA Cricket Magazine in 2016 that Mulder was destined to be a star. But he just didn’t really kick it off at the highest level since those heady, prolific junior years as a cricketer that signalled Mulder as a real up-and-coming talent.
At first, it seemed he might be more successful with the red cherry instead of with the bat in his burgeoning Test career, where he was often found much lower down the order, slogging away with the specialist bowlers, and chipping in with crucial wickets.
A lot has been said last week with comparisons to the great Jacques Kallis. But that would be unfair to simply label it as both careers at the highest level cannot be more different. And perhaps a bit premature. So, let’s just say Wiaan Mulder is Wiaan Mulder for now.
Credit to Shukri Conrad and his coaching staff for backing Mulder in the problematic No. 3 spot, which has had more pretenders to the crown than an episode of Game of Thrones. We did see Mulder batting at No. 3 in the SA20, but that format of cricket is continents away from Test cricket.
The biggest takeaway from my recent observations of Wiaan Mulder is that the World Test Championship final experience has taken the 27-year-old’s game to an elevated level that was only previously seen when he was a fearless teenager with the bat..
These are very exciting times for South African Test cricket. Since Covid-19, our Proteas Test batsmen could not buy a century – let alone a century partnership, which is telling.
Since the Proteas began a new journey under Conrad a couple of seasons ago and the recent New Year’s Test, we’ve had a double centurion in Ryan Rickelton and now this massive record-breaking score from Mulder that has blown Hashim Amla’s 311 out of the park.
Allayed with 19-year-old Lhuan-dre Pretorius clubbing 157 in the first Test, and the Proteas batting shares have gone through the roof … time to invest. Mulder’s arrival as a run-scoring beast has timed well with the flood of highly talented all-rounders South Africa suddenly has in their possession.
Some of our best ODI and Test squads have had more than three quality all-rounders in their respective starting XIs. Think Brian McMillan, Hansie Cronje, Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener, and Nicky Boje. Even Jonty Rhodes, when you factor in his run-out dismissals and ridiculously good catches.
And then what seemed like an eternity, we have finally been blessed in a major shift that has seen Mulder joining the likes of Marco Jansen, Keshav Marahaj and more recently, Corbin Bosch. The future does indeed look bright.
Mulder is demonstrating a serious appetite for runs. With due respect to Zimbabwe, their bowling attack leaves a lot to be desired. But in saying that, it’s not easy to gorge yourself for hours on end, dining out on a bottomless buffet of runs. – something the likes of Lara, Hayden, Sehwag, Sharma, Jayawardene, and Tendulkar enjoyed doing so to hapless Test bowling attacks.
Wiaan Mulder is a very special talent who has indeed arrived to the party, and we are proud to call him ours.
