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Anrich Nortje is not even married yet, but he’s already flirting with spending time in the dog box.
The Warriors fast bowler - whose inclusion in the Proteas’ 15-man World Cup squad last Thursday was the nearest thing to a surprise - is getting married on May 18. The trouble is the only flight he is catching the next day is to the global showpiece in England, not to his honeymoon.
Nortje and his fiancée Micaela Kleu, first toyed with the idea of getting married in December last year, only for cricket to intervene in the form of the Mzansi Super League (MSL) T20 tournament followed by his recent call up to the Proteas. They have resigned themselves to being happy with just getting married for the time being.
“Bringing back the trophy as a way to make it up to her would be unbelievable,” he chuckles. “But, as for promises, I haven’t made any. I think if there is a honeymoon somewhere, in the end, she’ll be happy.
“The whole wedding has been such a mission ... it’s been such a schlep to find a date or when to move it to with everything, so I put it three weeks after the domestic season thinking that would be the end. Now we’re leaving for the World Cup the day after.”
Since playing in the four ODI matches for South Africa that constituted his only games for his country, Nortje has dedicated the last few weeks to two things: fixing the right shoulder he damaged during the series against Sri Lanka, and planning his wedding.
The wedding seems to be on track and Nortje says the shoulder is almost there, too: “I’m very happy with the progress. It’s definitely better than what we expected during the initial stages. We’re building the workload on it and I should see the medical staff soon.”
Nortje’s meteoric rise in the local game - few fans had heard of him before he announced himself in the MSL, one wicket-taking 150km/h delivery at a time, six months ago - has been a long time coming for the 25-year-old from Port Elizabeth.
This was because of a combination of limited opportunities to play, studying and completing his BCom Financial Planning degree, and the whole gamut of fast bowlers’ injuries.
In addition to the shoulder injury, which meant he couldn’t take up his R400 000 IPL contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders, the former Hoërskool Brandwag pupil’s lower back and ankle have also taken strain from bowling that fast, the latter curtailing his participation in the MSL.
But, in just six months, he has gone from untelevised four-day cricket to starring alongside his idol, Dale Steyn, for the Cape Town Blitz in the MSL, getting an IPL contract and making the South African World Cup squad.
Rivash Gobind, his unsurprised coach at the Warriors, explained the “overnight” success: “My lack of surprise is from seeing him bowl all season. For someone to maintain that level of performance, speed, aggression and attitude over the course of the season, that’s not just form or something temporary. That’s someone who’s unlocked his game and is ready for international cricket.
“A lot of guys bowl or bat well in patches. What he’s done is to sustain it over a long period of time, which is difficult in fast bowling. He’s quite a deep thinker about his game; there are certain technical things he’s worked on that have improved, like his wrist position, bracing his front leg and, at the Proteas, he’s been working on rocking back to release his power.”
Gobind said, while the expectation is for Nortje not to start big matches at the World Cup, his attitude behind the scenes will be beneficial to the Proteas.
“He’s so professional on and off the field that whenever an opportunity comes for him to stake a claim or do a job for the team, he’s going to do that. But, if he doesn’t play, he’s not going to bring the energy of the team down.”
Gobind said he didn’t feel Nortje would be overawed at the World Cup, having played only four ODI matches.
“We get to the 14th of July (the day of the World Cup final) and Dale Steyn or Kagiso Rabada wakes up with a stiff neck and Ana has to bowl in front of a packed house at Lord’s, he’s going to put in a performance to be man of the match.”
