Pro20 Cricket: What is all this noise about how Roelof van der Merwe scored his 48 runs

Posted by Shaun Custers on Mar 30, 2009 in Pro20 | 5 comments

What is all this noise about how Roelof van der Merwe scored his 48 runs in the second Standard Bank Pro20 International? Journalists and fans alike are saying things like; “he got lucky”, “he didn’t play with any class”, “miscued swipes, freakish top edges and lots of laughs” and “there we’re no traditional cricket shots in his game”.

Since when was Pro20 cricket about class and elegant cricket strokes? Where is the tradition in Pro20 cricket? Ahh there isn’t any is there. Ask the 20 000 fans that attended the game at SuperSport Park if they thought Roelof van der Merwe played badly. Chances are they enjoyed every stroke because Pro20 cricket is about hitting the ball high and far, and scoring quickly which he did.

If Roelof van der Merwe had played a few elegant and classy cricket strokes and got out for 12 runs, everyone would be saying ooh he’s not quite ready yet. But on debut he scored the most runs and set his team up for the win (FTW).

Give the guy a break, help build his confidence and he’ll never look back.

5 Responses to “Pro20 Cricket: What is all this noise about how Roelof van der Merwe scored his 48 runs”

Heidi says:
March 30, 2009 at 4:12 pm

I’m in complete agreement with you. Great post!

‘Classy’ test cricket batsmen like Hashim Amla & Jacques Kallis could learn a thing or 2 about Pro20 style batting from this youngster. Maybe if they worried less about their form & class they’d actually score a few runs in this format of the game.
Neal T says:
March 30, 2009 at 4:35 pm

So true. It’s T20 anyway. How much of that is ‘real’ cricket in any case? That was only partially tongue-in-cheek. The fact of the matter is that T20 cricket is meant to be risky and explosive, and that’s exactly what vd Merwe brought to the game.

And I was always taught that if you’re going to try hit big, hit hard, and that’s exactly what he did with success. He deserved man on the match too. He was always full of energy and fired up.

Good for him!
KevinT says:
March 30, 2009 at 4:47 pm

Not sure I agree. Based on his local performances I think Roelof has a lot of talent and will (hopefully) do well in the SA side in time. BUT, the fact is he completely lost any sense of composure batting out there last night. He was swinging wildly at anything and everything. Yes, he made 48, but there was a hell of a lot of luck involved. Not the kind that derives from talent, but pure blind luck – the kind that is in no way consistently repeatable.
Shaun Custers says:
March 30, 2009 at 10:02 pm

@KevinT, Don’t forget that Roelof was playing in his first international match, against the Australian’s in front of the biggest crowd that he’s ever seen at his home ground.

I think we can forgive his lack of composure, this time.
KevinT says:
April 1, 2009 at 8:46 pm

@Shaun – absolutely, i agree. But there is a difference between forgiving him and putting him straight into the odi squad, that was my point.

Still, I think he is going to be a name to watch, and I hope his next innings is as entertaining as this last one