Hero Klaasen faces uncertain future
NEW STAR Despite taking hosts to victory twice, SA’s quota and return of stars may send keeper back to bench
CAPE TOWN: New South Africa wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen is cashing after an unexpectedly breaking into the national side because of injury to Quinton de Kock.
On Wednesday, the 26-year-old smashed a 30-ball 69 to lift the Proteas to victory over India in the second T20 in Centurion. He also top-scored with an unbeaten 43 in the Pink ODI, the only game of the preceding six-match series the hosts won.
However, South Africa’s quota system to push racial integration has frustrated many talented white players – many have migrated to England, New Zealand and Australia – and Klaasen could return to the bench when De Kock returns.
LIVING THE DREAM
But the stumper is not too bothered, after living the dream of scoring a match-winning knock for the Proteas at his home ground. “If the weekend one is my last game, so be it; I am happy with it. My dream is fulfilled.”
The final T20 will be played in Cape Town on Saturday.
South Africa’s quota in sports teams has thrown up a unique problem for some of its Afrikaans language schools.
Earlier this month, four schools in the Pretoria region were disqualified from the national schools T20 as they didn’t have two players of colour in their teams as required.
These schools have produced some of the best players of South African cricket, but with few black players wanting to study Afriaans – they prefer Englishmedium schools – these schools are caught in a bind.
Of the four, Afrikaanse Hoer Seunskool nurtured AB de Villiers and Faf Du Plessis, Centurion High School is the alma mater of women’s skipper Dane Van Niekerk and Klaasen studied in Menlo
Park school.
Former international umpire Johan Cloete, sports in-charge at Centurion High School, explained the problem. “We have 450-odd boys. Of them, only two boys of colour play cricket -- one is 14 and is in the junior team and the other is in our second XI. From where do we bring players of colour?”
Arno Van Wyk, in charge at Menlo Park who has coached Klaasen, says, “We hardly have boys of colour these days speaking Afrikaans. They mostly speak English. We are all for transformation but struggle to find them and put them in our school and team.”
These government-run schools have great sports facilities. However, the government is keen to fix the racial imbalance.
TEAM BALANCE
The South African national team too struggling to meet the numbers. Only five white players can be in the final XI. If Faf, AB, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram are all fit, then leave aide Klaasen, even Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel will struggle to get in.
“Klaasen is a fighter,” said Van Wyk.
“There was a time after he finished school when we thought of taking him to a place like Port Elizabeth for an opportunity at professional level. But he said he’ll stay back and fight it out. Soon, he found his way into Titans as first-choice keeperbatsman, in 2015.”
Van Wyk says Klaasen was the most talented of the 5000 kids they have trained in 20 years at Menlo Park.
“He’d stand up to the stumps against quick bowlers bowling at 135kph. He’d play audacious shots. We know if someone could get a 40-ball hundred, it was him. He would score double tons, not just centuries. He worked extremely hard.”
Importantly, the coaches never interfered with his style. Van Wyk attributes Klaasen’s success to quick hands. The shots he played, especially inside-out and reverse sweep for sixes against leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, vindicated the coach’s belief.
He’d stand up to the stumps against quick bowlers bowling at 135kph. He’d play audacious shots. We know if someone could get a 40ball hundred, it was him. ARNO VAN WYK, coach of Heinrich Klaasen