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Proteas allrounder Wiaan Mulder aims for the No. 3 Test spot after impressing in the ICC World Test Championship final.
Wiaan Mulder (C) celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of Australia’s Travis Head in WTC Final. (Picture credit: AP)
Proteas allrounder Wiaan Mulder is eager to secure the No. 3 Test spot in the Proteas’ line-up after making a solid impression when batting at first drop during their triumphant ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final last week.
Mulder scored six and 27 in the Ultimate Test at Lord’s. His 61-run partnership with centurion Aiden Markram on the third day was crucial in the Proteas’ five-wicket victory over Australia, which earned them the coveted mace.
This was only the fourth time Mulder had batted at No. 3 for South Africa in Test cricket, and he is determined to make the position his own.
“To be honest, I loved it (batting at three) in this Test. I’m a bad watcher, especially knowing I’m going in next to bat. I get so nervous, and I think everyone really does,” Mulder told ICC Digital.
“If they say they don’t, I think they’re lying, to be honest. There are many things that go through your head when you’re watching. When you’re batting at three, you have to be switched on pretty much from the first ball.
“I didn’t mind that, and I really enjoyed it. And I really hope that Shuks (South Africa coach Shukri Conrad) sees me there going forward in that position as I think I can have a big impact,” he added.
The No. 3 position in the Proteas’ batting line-up has been unsettled in recent times, with players like Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi, and Tristan Stubbs all taking on this crucial role during South Africa’s journey to the WTC final.
“I think it balances our team well. If you look at the combinations we can play, we can play Kesh up anywhere we go if I bat at three, because I can be the fourth seamer and Kesh will be your spinner pretty much anywhere in the world.”
“And I think that makes us quite versatile in so many different conditions and if I can get some runs there it would mean a lot.”
“To be able to get a bit more responsibility with the bat just suits my character a bit more and that opportunity to bat at three just gives me that opportunity to always have an impact on the game somewhere along the line,” Mulder added.
Mulder is likely to get the chance to make the number three spot his own, with the Proteas scheduled to play two Tests against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in the coming weeks. A trio of first-choice batters—Markram, Rickelton, and Stubbs—have been rested.
“I haven’t batted a lot at three, so it’s another opportunity to learn and try and get some runs and have an impact on the game. It’s going to be a little bit different mentally to this (WTC Final) Test and the preparation to this Test, because we were playing against the Aussies in probably the biggest Test I’ll ever play in.
“So, to get up for it is going to be a different challenge, but I love the game, so I just want to play. When I spoke to Shooks about it, I said, ‘Please don’t even consider not playing me,” he concluded.
With IANS inputs
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