MATCH STORIES
Follow Us"Often in tough situations like this is when you shape new great things to happen,” Gerhard Erasmus sternly believes in leading by example.
As far as cricketers and leaders go, there are none more vociferous and meticulous about the game and the planning as Erasmus himself, who has forever only sought to make the Eagles soar sky high.
He’s always in the game, be it his read of the game, with the bat or the ball. If not for either of the two, he runs the rounds, making desperate dives to save every run. Coming into the T20 World Cup, Erasmus didn’t mince any words. He was as simple and pertinent as possible in terms of the Eagles’ chances at the global event.
But one thing he specified time and again: Exposure. For teams like Namibia, the opportunity to showcase the world their skillset doesn’t come time and again. So, whenever such an opportunity presents itself, Erasmus grabs it with both hands.
At 19/2, Namibia were almost bulldozed by Scotland’s pace unit. If Brad Wheal was getting some swing movement, Brad Currie was getting a gentle swing away from the reach of Jan Frylinck, who couldn’t hold himself but get an edge back onto the stumps. When the ball is doing the hoops, there aren’t too many better pace bowling units as Scotland.
They smelt blood and were ready to take the opportunity with both hands.
Enter Erasmus.
Since the last T20 World Cup, Erasmus has been quite consistent in terms of run-scoring, but there was some concern when the conversation revolved around his strike rate—109.7. He was there but wasn’t nearly impacting the game as much as he would love.
But all that conversation about strike rates disappeared when he walked out to bat against Scotland.
Just two balls into his innings, Erasmus rocked back to cart the ball over mid-off region for a six. It wasn’t any other bowler; it was Scotland’s premier bowler, Mark Watt. Until the start of the clash, Watt had already picked up 16 wickets with an economy of only six, through the T20 World Cups.
Across 54 overs, Watt was as miserly as possible, bowling 138 dots, having conceded just 27 boundaries in total. That’s one boundary every second over. In terms of misers, he is up there amongst the best.
A delivery later, it was a four, this time over mid-on, leaving Watt absolutely flabbergasted.
How do you take down a good bowling unit? Of course, by targeting one of their best. That’s what Erasmus’ game plan was throughout the innings. He let the other Namibian batters take on the pacers as he went relentlessly after Watt’s accurate darters. While not arrogant, Erasmus had a bit of supercilious approach attached to him.
That kind is determined to win games for his team. During his stay at the crease, Erasmus had an answer to every question that the Scots’ posed. Bowl it short, there was a punch off the backfoot or a cut, and bowl it full; he will drive that through like an empty M8. It didn’t matter if Erasmus was facing Watt or the sharp leg spin of Chris Greaves, who was skidding the ball on.
On a surface that was two-paced, Erasmus was quietly ‘right-paced’, he found gears that the other Namibian batters struggled to. Michael Leask wasn’t spared either, this time over the bowler’s head for a four.
At no point in the innings did it feel like Erasmus was out of sync with the game, and if anything, it only felt like he was one step ahead of the bowler. He knew Scotland’s game plans and found suitable answers through the various shots in his armory, which he developed from his time playing three different sports – improving his hand and eye coordination. Against spin alone, Erasmus struck at 200, scoring 46 off 23 balls.
When he brought his half-century up with a swipe over long-on, it only elucidated the importance of Erasmus in such a setup. At that very moment, he was striking at 173.3. All those things of the past quietly slipped past, and Scotland suddenly were caught napping.
The good thing is Erasmus’ half-century has Namibia smiling at 155/9, and the bad thing is that he has now shown the Scottish batter the way to bat on this surface: be fearless but, at the same time, don't let the risk take control of you.
It is a combination that the best of the best struggle with, but not Erasmus, not on Thursday (June 6). Perhaps all those hard yards at various different moot courts helped Erasmus out there on the field. As it stands, the law degree back home could be attracting more and more dust as he continues to stamp his authority on the associate world.
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