It's been quite a while since South Africa's been able to claim a genuine all-rounder in the make-up of their Test team. Could Wiaan Mulder be filling that void?
It goes without saying that we were very spoiled by the presence of Jacques Kallis as a near permanent fixture in team from the time he made his debut in 1995 until his final Test in 2013. But since then, nobody has really made that spot their own. But that situation is changing – and quite rapidly at that.
While Marco Jansen is name that we shouldn’t forget or discard – the lanky left-arm quick averages 22.79 with the ball and boasts a highest score of 84 not out from his 13 Tests, but it is Mulder who is really showing himself to be the real deal.
It would be great to see both players side-by-side in a Test team, and perhaps that will happen in the not-too-distant future, but right now it is Mulder who has stepped forward to showcase his credentials in exceptional style on the current tour of Bangladesh.
In the first Test in Mirpur it was Mulder who opened the bowling and helped South Africa set the tone for things to come as he knocked over the first three wickets to fall with a fiery spell of three for 22. He finished the Test with figures of four for 62 – a very solid return.
But it was with the bat that he showed his true value as an all-rounder as he scored a patient 54 from 112 balls in a match-winning partnership of 119 runs with Kyle Verreynne. In the context of a low scoring match, it was a massive contribution – the second-highest partnership of the innings and the stand which took the game right away from the hosts.
But roll on the second Test, which is still on the go in Chattogram, and Mulder is once again delivering a vital performance – once again with the bat – as he stroked a brisk 105 from 150 balls to help the Proteas to a massive first innings total of 575 for six declared.
Wiaan Mulder scores his maiden Test century as the @ProteasMenCSA declare on 577-6 🏏🇿🇦
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 30, 2024
📺 Stream #BANvSA on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/aFucDYLmNV
While he has only bowled two overs at the time of publishing during Bangladesh innings as he was slow getting onto the field after the declaration, he will be looking to add to his ever growing total of 29 Test wickets.
Yes, for both Jansen and Mulder it is early days in what will hopefully be long and impressive careers – Jansen is 24 and Mulder is 26 and they have each played fewer than 20 Tests, but let’s take a moment to look at where Jacques Kallis was at a similar stage in his Test career. After 16 Tests, Kallis, who would go on to average 55.37 with the bat and 32.65 with the ball, had very modest numbers. We are talking a batting average of 25.37 and a bowling average of 32.
Those numbers stack up very well against the Mulder’s averages: 22.4 with the bat and 23.68 with the ball and they bode very well for South Africa as they seek to re-establish themselves as a Test cricket force to be reckoned with. A truly exceptional Test side needs balance – and perfect balance comes with five bowlers and seven batsmen (plus a wicketkeeper). That is a balance that is hard to strike if you can only have 11 players in a team – which is why genuine all-rounders are such important players.
Think of some of the powerhouse Test teams of years gone by… The great Australian team of the 1990’s had Steve Waugh. Botham was a phenom for England in the 1980’s in much the same way that Ben Stokes has been in more recent times. Garry Sobers was the key man for the West Indies from the 1950 through to the 70’s. And Jacques Kallis was at the centre of South Africa’s rise to the top of the Test rankings under Graeme Smith in the 2000’s.
As the series in Bangladesh heads towards a close the talk of South Africa making it into the top two of the World Test Championship continues to get louder. We won’t get ahead of ourselves just yet, but it is safe to say, that if the Proteas are to compete for the title in the one-off Test at Lords in 2025 being able to draw on the skills of genuine all-rounders is going to be key. Here’s hoping that Mulder (and Jansen) continue to develop and grow into those key middle-order positions.
