MUMBAI: Waiting endlessly for an opportunity to show your worth despite being talented and a proven performer can be draining for a sportsman. And if anyone can vouch for it, it is South African opener Reeza Hendricks.
Hendricks scored his first ODI hundred on debut vs Sri Lanka in 2018 at Pallekele and one thought it was enough to give him a decent run. That was after he made his international debut in a T20I vs Australia in 2014. But in five years, he has featured in only 30 ODIs.
Hendricks, who takes you to the times of Andrew Hudson, ex-South African opener and selector, with his elegant stance and balance at the crease, and the way he keeps the willow aerial while waiting for the bowler, has tasted enormous success in domestic events and in franchise T20 competitions. However, the security of a regular spot in the playing XI, despite being in the squad, has been a difficult break to catch.
When the 34-year-old was overlooked for the 2019 World Cup, Hendricks was extremely disappointed as he was in good List A form.
His World Cup debut came in unexpected circumstances on Saturday against defending champions England in stifling conditions at the Wankhede Stadium. Moments before the toss, skipper Temba Bavuma took ill and was not fit to play and Hendricks was given 10 minutes notice to get his kit on.
“I have been preparing like everyone else does in the nets on the day of the game. I obviously did not expect to play, but the way things unfolded, which is 5 to 10 minutes before the toss time I had to get my mindset on and be ready to go,” Hendricks explained after the game.
This year, South Africa have played 11 ODIs but Hendricks has featured in only four.
On Saturday, he didn’t get much time to think and that may have been a blessing in disguise as he let his instincts take over. “Sometimes it works out well when you don’t have to think too much. But after a while into my innings, I felt everything was starting to happen too quickly and I needed to calm myself down. That is why I probably played out a few dots (13 before getting off the mark) and I started to relax only after I got my first boundary away.”
Despite his success on Saturday, Hendricks may not make it to the XI for South Africa’s next game against Bangladesh at the Wankhede again on Tuesday if Bavuma recovers in time. The waiting game will start again for a spot in the eleven.
Hendricks has suffered because of being a top-order player. There is a log jam there in South African white-ball
cricket. He waited for an opportunity during the T20 World Cup in Australia last year and despite being in good T20 form, he could not get in as he saw out of form players in influential and decision-making roles, select themselves, leading to the team crashing out before the semis. How difficult is it to deal with?
“Unfortunately, it’s a position that I have always found himself in. I have had to make peace with the situation I have faced. I don’t want to be too hard on myself. I want to do things that I can control, which is practise hard. It’s never nice to always sit on the sidelines, waiting for the next opportunity though.”
When he got to 85, one thought the five-year wait for a second ton would end soon, but an Adil Rashid googly extended that wait. “That’s how it’s always been with me. I have always had to wait for things,” Hendricks said, philosophically.
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