How you can help us

By Khalid Mohidin

Hey, guys! Welcome to another issue of Cricket Fanatics Magazine, the first and only fan-driven Cricket publication in South Africa.

We started this venture on 1 July 2019 with a vision to get fans from all walks of life engaged with the game and give them access to the personalities in South African Cricket.

We want to tell the untold stories of South African cricket and we want fans to be heard.

Since we started, we covered the Mzansi Super League, Women’s Super League, Proteas Men and Women International Test, ODI and T20I series, as well as school and club cricket, with the aim of providing entertaining, engaging and educational content.

But haven't stopped there.

We started a Monthly Magazine where we provide multi-media content, including exclusive features, opinion pieces and analysis.

This works hand-in-hand with our YouTube channel where we produce unique cricket shows that allow fans to call in and have their say.

We have the Daily Show, which reveals all the major talking points in South African cricket, the Sunday Podcast Show where we sit back, relax and engage with the live chat, answering all the questions fans have about us and the game.

We have Off-Side Maidens, the first ever All-Women’s Cricket Show on YouTube, which helps empower women in cricket and gives them a place to share their own views on not only women’s cricket but all cricket.

We have a Legends show, where we interview all legends in cricket.

To produce all of this, we’ve invested a lot of money, time and effort to bring this to you for free.

But to keep this going we need your help.

So we have opened a Patreon account.

In the past, the super-rich supported the work of artists as patrons of the art.

Today, we are fortunate that technology has enabled anyone to become a patron of creative work, even if they are not billionaires.

We have therefore launched a campaign for you as a Cricket Fan to become a patron and support us as an independent, bootstrapped publisher.

As a Patron, you also get your voice heard as a Fan.

Plus: You have the opportunity to become more engaged with the content we produce.

Every month we produce at least:

• 60 Website Articles
• 20 Daily Video Shows
• 4 Weekly Podcasts
• Match Previews
• Match Reviews
• Video Interviews
• And more…

So please join our Patreon today initiative today. Even a tiny amount can make a big difference.

Shukri Conrad: We've ticked all boxes in terms of preparation

By Khalid Mohidin

The Proteas made an early departure for New Zealand on 19 January, a strategic move aimed at acclimatizing to the unfamiliar conditions and improving on team cohesion.

As many players gear up for their inaugural experience in New Zealand, the conditions are anticipated to significantly impact both team composition and individual player strategies.

Zubayr Hamza and Duanne Olivier emerge as the sole players with Test match exposure in New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Raynard van Tonder draws on his valuable insights gained as the South Africa U19 captain during the U19 World Cup in New Zealand back in 2018.

Notably, Van Tonder showcased his prowess with a score of 117 (129 balls) in a crucial 5th-spot play-off match against NZ at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch 143 (121 balls) against Kenya at Lincoln Green (where the 3-Day Warm-Up match took place).

His familiarity extends to the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, the venue for the first Test, where the U19s played two matches during that tournament.

Expressing satisfaction with the team's preparations, Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad affirmed, “I think we have ticked all our boxes in terms of our preparation.”

Conrad emphasized the comprehensive groundwork that commenced with the 'A' series against West Indies 'A'.

The team's stay in Christchurch has been characterized by excellent facilities and a positive atmosphere.

“We are very happy with where we are at. We get a very good feel amongst the group as well. Where I sit as the head coach, we are as well prepared as we were ever going to be. Now it’s just about arriving at the venues and adding the finishing touches,” Conrad added.

In collaboration with New Zealand, a mutually agreed-upon 3-day game was incorporated into the preparation schedule.

Coach Conrad shed light on the significance of this match, emphasizing that the focus wasn’t solely on run totals but rather on extracting the desired outcomes from individual players.

He highlighted the subjective nature of warm-up matches, emphasizing the importance of how players feel about their technical proficiency.

“It was never about the amount of runs; it was all about the work we put in prior to the 3-Day match and also for the guys to get out of the match what they wanted. One or two of them had to be coerced to get off the ground,” Conrad explained.

He further clarified that the match's structure was deliberate, allowing the team to simulate specific scenarios they anticipate facing during the upcoming Test match. The afternoon session on the third day was dedicated to targeted practice in preparation for the challenges ahead.

South African squad: Neil Brand (c), David Bedingham, Ruan de Swardt, Clyde Fortuin (wk), Zubayr Hamza, Tshepo Moreki, Mihlali Mpongwana, Duanne Olivier, Dane Paterson, Keegan Petersen, Dane Piedt, Raynard van Tonder, Shaun von Berg, Khaya Zondo.

New Zealand squad: Tim Southee, Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke (second Test only), Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson (c), Will Young

Business Corner

By Khalid Mohidin

Businesses can now market affordably and effectively to a cricket audience!

We are excited to announce the launch of our Business Corner to help you market your business, products and services affordably and effectively to a cricket audience.

Since we started Cricket Fanatics Magazine in 2019, we've survived a pandemic, lockdowns, no cricket and even the financial woes of Cricket South Africa.

As a small, independent startup, we know how difficult it is to remain competitive under difficult circumstances.

We have to compete with some of the biggest media companies in the world ourselves, despite not having the budget and the resources they have.

However, we found a strategy that works for smaller businesses and that has been proven to work for thousands of businesses all over the world.

When we first discovered this strategy, we didn't believe that it would work.

After all, everybody around us was trying to blast their way to success via social media, just like the big brands did with traditional media like print, radio and television.

But it made so much sense that we decided to test it ourselves.

Today we are a well-respected publication in cricket circles.

And we have the systems to help any business implement the strategy.

We've therefore decided to start a Business Corner to help businesses implement this strategy.

But we know it's not for everybody.

Read more about the strategy and the system on our Business Page to decide whether you are ready to implement a modern online marketing strategy that gets you more long-term happy customers.

Hometown Hero: The KP Story

By C.S Chiwanza

Keegan Petersen spent large parts of his childhood on the grassbanks and sidelines of Parys cricket fields. That is where his father, Dirk ‘Dirkie’ Petersen, played home matches throughout his club cricket career with Paarl Cricket Club.

During Dirkie’s playing years, there was no fortune to be made in sports. There was the odd international excursion - in 1992, Dirkie was part of the SA Schools rugby team that competed at the Student World Cup in Italy. Besides that, there was nothing else. For Dirkie’s generation, all sports were amateur sports. The age of professionalism was light-years away.

“I never got paid to play cricket or rugby,” says Dirk Petersen, a lifelong school teacher. “We used to do it for the pleasure and fun of it.”

Sports were a community event. They were the glue that bound the community together. When Dirkie took Keegan to cricket and rugby matches (at Greenpoint Track), he was doing what every parent did. Matchdays were always festive family outings. Families congregated on the grassbanks with picnic baskets.

It’s little surprise that Keegan’s first memories of cricket are of his father throwing balls for him on the sidelines of Parys cricket fields. That is what every parent did, they played with their sons and daughters as they waited for their turn to bat or after dismissal. Every parent thought their child had the makings of a cricketer and was very encouraging.

Using a junior bat bought at Newlands Stadium, Keegan tried to slog sweep about 60% of the balls he faced. He was imitating his father. Dirkie played the slog sweep better than anyone Keegan had ever seen. Keegan wanted to execute it as well as his father did.

Dirkie feels at home whenever he visits Parys cricket fields. For Keegan, that feeling comes over him when he visits Boland park. Keegan has always wanted to play cricket at Boland Park. Besides the Parys cricket fields, Boland Park was the other place where Keegan received the bulk of the theory side of his cricket education.

“I always took Keegan to watch matches at Boland Park from the time he was very young. Little did I know that he would play there someday,” says Dirkie.

In 2011, father and son were in the stands at Boland Park, sharing opinions on the competing teams, as always. They had that Earl and young Tiger Woods vibe about them. Father and son enjoying a sport they both loved, father optimistic that his son would have a better career in the sport than he had. Like Earl, Dirkie had probably told everyone that Keegan would be the best in the world when Keegan was still a toddler.

“As a five year-old, Keegan could hit the ball well,” says Dirkie. “Even at that stage, his hand and eye coordination was very good. I then realised that this boy had something good going.”

Earl Woods used to jingle keys and coins during Tiger’s backswing to increase his concentration. He also gave 13-year-old Tiger an earful after the boy had behaved badly at a tournament. He also read Tiger the riot act after the boy had not given his all at a junior tournament.

Dirkie was as hard-driving as Earl Woods. After matches, he would highlight areas that he felt Keegan needed to improve on. He would pick up on the loose shots and point to the flaws associated with them. The moments of feedback did not always end well, some ended up in fights as Keegan defended his choices.

Like Earl’s key and coins, the scrutiny was meant to toughen Keegan up. Prepare him for greater and more intense scrutiny that waited for him ahead if he turned professional.

Dirkie and Keegan’s relationship was also different from Earl and Tiger’s relationship in a lot of other ways. Earl and Tiger did everything together for most of Tiger’s life. They spent hours in the garage hitting golf balls in the garage into a net or on the golf course practising. Afterwards, like two old friends, Earl and Tiger would retire at the bar where they nursed drinks and traded stories. Earl would have a rum and Coke, while Tiger sipped on a Coke with cherries.

Keegan also had interests that did not intersect with Dirkie’s. He cultivated his own circle of friends whom he spent significant portions of his time with. Tiger spent his time with Earl and Earl’s friends, old former servicemen.

Keegan's first bat was not really a bat. It was a bat, but not a batter's bat. Keegan was in line to play his first hardball game, an under-11 game, and he had no kit. No pads, no gloves, no bat, nothing. For weeks in the run-up to the game, he had pestered Dirkie for a new bat.

“Two nights before the game, my dad bought me a little bat that the coaches hit catches with,” says Keegan.

Dirkie had bought a catching practice bat.

The fungo bat. That is the catching practice bat's closest relative. Baseball coaches use the fungo bat, which is lighter and longer than a regular baseball bat, for practice and to facilitate drills. The cricket catching practice bat does not have as snazzy a name as a fungo bat. The cricket universe calls it by the job it does: catching practice bat.

The catching practice bat was cheaper than a regular cricket bat. It was a good deal, Dirkie had thought. He would get Keegan a proper bat in a year or two. Surely Keegan wouldn't mind.

Dirkie was wrong. Keegan did mind very much.

If he showed up with that bat his friends would destroy him. They would tear him to pieces. He would sooner show up with an old bat than what his father had bought him. When it came to important decisions, the opinion of his friends mattered. The kind of bat he had would determine whether he was viewed as cool or become a laughing stock. A catching practice bat was not cool and would not make him look cool.

“I was like, ‘No dad, I'm not going to use that. They're going to make fun of me if I show up with that,’” says Keegan.

It's not as if Keegan and his friends came from wealth. When they played street cricket, they used everything from planks to old discarded bats, if they found one - which was not often.

They played street cricket, not backyard cricket. Their backyards were not expansive enough to accommodate all the kids who took part in the makeshift One Day Internationals. The games were regularly interrupted by both foot and vehicular traffic. Hitting a ball into someone's yard brought a game to a stop. The boys scattered in all directions before a lady whose yard their ball had invaded was out of the door to give them an earful.

“I was fortunate to grow up with lots of kids of my age around me,” says Keegan. “We never took a break from cricket. We played cricket at school and after school, you just popped into the house, ate and quickly popped outside to play cricket or touch rugby or whatever. But, it was cricket most of the time.”

There is a difference with today’s generation of teens from the area. Through their teens, Keegan and his friends wanted to grow up to be athletes like Chester Williams, Tinus Linee and a few others who made careers out of sports. Modern youths want different numbers. Instead of shirt numbers, they want gang numbers.

The area where Keegan grew up is a ghetto, as Keegan calls it. But not an extreme ghetto. Dirkie was a social sciences teacher. Dirkie had a lengthy spell working for the Correctional Services Department. When he left that job, he went back to teaching.

Keegan’s parents had stable employment. They were okay. They were among the fortunate ones.

Dirkie folded. The next day he returned the catching practice bat and came back with a Grey Nicolls bat. Keegan used that Grey Nicolls bat for the better part of three years. That is the bat he played with when he played his first game at Boland Park, an under-13 match for Boland.

“It was a dream come true,” Keegan reminisces.

Dirkie made provincial A-teams early on in his career. He was in the Western Province Under-16 A-side. Dirkie is not the tallest man around. He is small in stature. Keegan describes him as a nudger of the ball. Dirkie accumulated runs by working the gaps and running hard between the wickets.

Like his father, Keegan is also small in stature. But, unlike his father, Keegan never made representative A-teams. He was always stuck in the B-sides, despite his obvious talent. The problem was probably his height.

“Keegan was very small in stature, so he could not hit the ball very far. He hit the odd four here and there,” says Dirkie. “But, he had the ability as a young boy to block the ball the whole day. He used to open the batting and could bat right through the innings of 50 overs.”

Maybe coaches were on the lookout for bigger and stronger players to open the batting or bat in the top order. They seemed blind to his exploits for New Orleans High School, not even the 100 he scored against a strong Stellenbosch High bowling attack made anyone think of giving him a run in the A-side.

Keegan’s big break came in 2009. Allan Alexander was putting together an invitational team for a two-match series against a touring Surrey side. Alexander asked Dirkie if he could add Keegan to the team. Keegan did not hesitate when his father asked him. He was more than happy to play.

Keegan was the player of the series. He scooped both Man of The Match awards on offer. That is when selectors sat up and took notice. After the series, Keegan made the Boland Under-17A team.

Keegan made the Boland senior team in an equally fortuitous manner.

Keegan’s mother had gone out with the car. She had some stuff to do that required that she had a car. That meant that Keegan and Dirkie had to walk to Boland Park for the Boland vs Griquas match. Unlike earlier in the week, they were not going to watch from the stands. Well, one of them was going to be in the stands and it was not going to be Keegan.

It was 2011. Keegan was 18 years old and a veteran of one Coke Week tournament. He would play another one the following year.

Earlier in the week, Dirkie and Keegan had been sitting in the stands at Boland Park, sharing opinions on the competing teams, as always. Boland was playing against the Griquas. This time it was not just father and son, Noor Rhode and Barney Mohamed had joined them. Rhode was the convenor of selectors for Boland and Mohamed was the Boland Coach.

“Mr Rhode asked me, ‘Do you think you can handle batting against these guys?’” It was a casual conversation. Rhode went back a long way with Dirkie, they had played together in their younger years. “I said, ‘I don't know, I hope to think so.’ He said, ‘Strap up, you are playing on Sunday.’”

The conversation moved on to the players on the field and other cricket-related matters. Keegan had thought nothing more of it afterwards. He had assumed that they were just shooting the breeze. Keegan only realised that it had been a serious conversation that evening when Mohamed called the Petersen's home. Mohamed was calling Dirkie to make arrangements for Keegan’s debut the following Sunday.

Dirkie and Keegan left home early. Boland Park is about five kilometres away from New Orleans. Father and son took turns carrying Keegan’s kit, though Dirkie did most of the carrying. It seemed as if, in that instant, Dirkie’s body had regained some of the strength he possessed during his active years.

Dirkie’s body took a hammering on the rugby field. He felt the effects after he stopped playing. His neck gives problems now and then.

“He always says that if he had known earlier, he wouldn't have played rugby. He says he would make a different choice now because it's just something that comes back to you later on in life,” says Keegan.

But, that Sunday, the aches and pains were gone as he helped his son lug the bag.

“It was a big bag,” says Dirkie.

Father and son arrived at the stadium 45 minutes before the game. The plan had been to reach the stadium ahead of time so that Keegan could have enough time to rest and compose himself.

“It was a long walk. I was both anxious and excited,” says Keegan.

Despite working towards it for years, Keegan was still unprepared when the moment arrived. It happened so suddenly. One moment, Keegan was watching a match in the stands, and the next moment, he was preparing his gear to bat.

Normally, Dirkie trusted Keegan to apply the training he had received to handle game situations. But not on that Sunday morning.

“I think my dad was nervous as I was, he kept telling me about how to handle certain game situations,” says Keegan.

The excitement and anxiety soon vanished. When it was game time, Keegan wore his game face, mustering as expressionless a look as he could. He scored 44 runs on his debut.

On the 28th and 29th of November 2013, one of New Orleans’ finest sons played one of the finest knocks ever witnessed at Boland Park.

When Keegan is ready to face delivery, he taps his bat to the ground very slowly. At around a quarter of his normal speed. In that innings, 20-year-old Keegan spent 471 minutes at the crease and performed his slow bat tap 379 times. He hit 26 fours and three sixes on his way to an unbeaten 225 runs. It was a coming-of-age innings. The following season he moved up to the Cape Cobras.

“That’s why I love Boland Park,” says Dirkie who watched the match. “That is where Keegan scored his highest score.”

Keegan would have loved to debut for the Proteas at Boland Park. Before his return to Boland, he did not play there a lot because as his career blossomed, Keegan had to move away. In his 3 years with the Cobras, Keegan only started in 7 games. With the Knights, his career was going along well, but Keegan felt the need to join a bigger franchise. That’s how he ended up in Durban with the Dolphins.

He only played at Boland Park when the Dolphins take on Boland. This now has changed, with his return to Boland when the system changed to a two division structure.

Keegan’s beloved ground has yet to host a Proteas men’s Test match. The only time a Test match was played there was in 2002 when the Momentum Proteas played a Test against India Women.

Keegan made his debut in the West Indies. That day, Dirkie did all he could to ensure he watched the Test live on TV.

“I was in tears the whole day,” says Dirkie. He could hardly teach that day.

They were tears of joy. His heart was swelling with pride. He knew how hard Keegan had fought to get to this point. This was the reward for all the moments Keegan had asked, ‘Daddy let’s go to the nets. Let’s go to practice again so that I can work harder on what the coaches said I must work on.’

As if Dirkie had not cried enough on Keegan’s Proteas debut, Keegan made him cry again less than a month later. It was a brace. A rarity too. Keegan had never made his father cry that often.

When he visited home after the tour to the West Indies, Keegan had a gift for his father. He gave Dirkie his Proteas debut shirt. It was framed. This was his way of sharing the special moment with Dirkie.

“I wanted him to know that even if he had not been there physically, he was still part of my debut,” says Keegan. What makes the moment even better is the fact that Keegan put together the frame, with the help of one of his closest friends.

“It was a huge honour to receive that shirt. My late wife and I cried as he presented it to us,” says Dirkie.

Keegan would have loved it if his father had been able to be in the stands when he scored his first half-century. Dirkie watched the match from his home in New Orleans. But, Keegan also had someone important to witness the innings. His wife and son, whom he saluted with his bat, were in the stands. His son is too young to know or understand what was going on, but Keegan is still proud that he was there.

Dirkie was in the stands when the Proteas played Bangladesh. He is no longer critical of Keegan. That is now Keegan’s job. Keegan is hard on himself. He is proud of his three half-centuries for the Proteas, but he also sees them as missed opportunities.

“I had three chances to score 100 in that series. Each time I passed 50 was chance,” says Keegan. You can almost hear Dirkie’s voice cautioning young Keegan against complacency after reaching a milestone. Dirkie often told him, ‘when you get to a 100, try not to get out. If you get out, the next player might get a duck. Suddenly the team is against the ropes. That’s how the game works. Don’t throw away your wicket.’

His father has taken a step back when it comes to his batting. But, Keegan still reaches out to him for guidance.

“If I have a problem with some aspect of my batting I consult my dad. No one knows my batting like he does. He probably knows my batting better than me,” says Keegan. “He can't really throw anymore is because of all the 1000s of balls he's thrown to me over the years. But, he'll find a way and we'll work on it.”

Whenever people talk about his impact on Keegan’s career, Dirkie is quick to remind them that Keegan’s success is all because of Keegan. From when Keegan was a child, Dirkie has been wary of people attributing Keegan’s successes to him. That is why he was always unwilling to drive Keegan to trials. He did not want people to see Keegan as Dirkie’s boy but as a talented and able youngster who can earn a place on his own.

Dirkie played a part, alongside his wife, in raising a hardworking individual. But, it was Keegan who always had the strength to rise whenever he fell, he was the one that never lost heart when he was overlooked for the representative A teams. Dirkie threw 1000s of balls to Keegan, but only because Keegan pushed him to do so.

Just as he did almost immediately after returning from the Caribbean, Keegan visits home as often as he can. Some of his closest friends are still in New Orleans. His family and community love him as much as he loves them. When Keegan is playing, the streets of Chicago, the New Orleans suburb he grew up in, are deserted. Everyone and their parents and grandparents are glued to TV screens.

The streets fill up again when he is dismissed. Suddenly no one is interested in the game anymore. Kids grab planks and old bats and play their own version of the match. Keegan is the first athlete from the community to represent South Africa in about 10 years.

Keegan is a hometown hero.

Youngsters from Chicago and the greater New Orleans see themselves in Keegan. Yes, he had Dirkie guiding him, throwing thousands of balls to him, day after day. But as Dirkie said, it was Keegan doing the hard work.

Keegan is someone they relate with. He did not benefit from getting a scholarship to one of the prestigious schools that give most youngsters from places like New Orleans a boost. He is a New Orleans High School boy.

Keegan did not blaze the trail by playing for the A-sides in representative sides from Under-11. Keegan is not just one of their own that made it, he is one of their own that worked his way up and climbed over. He worked his way from the fringes to prominence.

Whenever young boys and girls run up to him to shake hands, chat and for autographs each time he visits, this is the Keegan they rush to. One of their own who lived what they live through. This is also the Keegan whom adults from Chicago visit to the Petersens’ home to congratulate whenever he has visited. Keegan’s success is the community’s success.

Getting To Know Mihlali Mpongwana

By Abhai Sawkar

It’s been quite the captivating passage of Test cricket in the last few days, and a trend has already been set. The West Indies scored a series-tying win against Australia at the Gabba, while England won the first Test against India. Both victories were studded by a breakthrough performance from complete newcomers to Test cricket.

Let’s segue to the upcoming series for South Africa: two games against New Zealand. All eyes have been on the Proteas superstars involved in the SA20, but in the meantime, a Test squad with several new names (and a handful of experienced players) is set to take on a full-strength Blackcaps team. With several mainstays absent, the door has opened for more domestic players who have made significant progress.

Out of the 15-player squad, 8 of them have yet to play international cricket for SA. And among the uncapped octet is seam-bowling allrounder Mihlali Mpongwana. The 23-year-old Capetonian has been chosen in a Proteas squad only for the second time in his career. His first call-up came in December, for the ODIs against India. He ended up gameless but credits the experience regardless.

“When I first got called up, I was both very excited and nervous at the same time,” said Mpongwana to Cricket Fanatics Magazine. “The one thing that was going through my head was the possibility of making my international debut against a seriously strong team. The environment was very welcoming and professional, which I appreciated the most. And I was with a lot of guys who I’ve played with and against, so it was a pretty chilled atmosphere.”

Unlike the home ODI series against India, the NZ Tests offer Mpongwana a better chance to open his account for the Proteas. Finding multiple all-round options has been an ongoing selection conundrum, and here comes an opportunity for him to showcase his cricketing repertoire.

“I always say I’m capable of winning games with either bat or ball, but I’ve always enjoyed batting more than bowling since I first started playing cricket.”

More recently, Mpongwana played for the SA A side in a 3-Test series against West Indies A. It may not have been the best series from an individual perspective, but it still was handy preparation for a tougher assignment in store.

“I’ve had the important conversations [with Test coach Shukri Conrad] during the West Indies series, so I’m aware of his expectations. All in all, it was really just getting the feeling of playing at a level that’s very close to international cricket. Nerves and the need to impress did get to me and going forward, it’s something I want to manage better.”

The 2023-24 season has been a fruitful one, bringing about international call-ups in two formats for the determined youngster. But the path was far from smooth, especially early on. It wasn’t until he made Western Province’s contract list that his career really began to take off.

“I feel the setbacks I’ve had in domestic cricket are more of a collective setback than anything personal. The one that stands out the most was losing the One Day Cup final last year against the Lions. And another was not being able to attend the National Academy to grow my game, since I just had a finger operation. But the major turning point was being contracted by WP for the very first time.”

From the team’s perspective, expectations are relatively lower, especially given the composition of the squad. However, that could be a psychological boon for the new-look Proteas. Remember how an injury-hit India took down the mighty Aussies at the Gabba three years ago? And how about January 28, 2024 - that fateful day? There’s no doubt that it’s a difficult task at hand, but it’s by no means impossible. Should Mpongwana and his fellow potential Test debutants shine, that will allow the selectors to cast a wider net for future series.

“At the moment, I’m taking things as they come and I’m not looking too far ahead. I’m just looking to craft more on my skills, because I personally feel that you can’t be too comfortable at the highest level of the game. You need to strive for perfection, even though you can’t be perfect 100% of the time.”

Q&A: Shandre Fritz

By Janine and Jessica October

Tell us how you got involved with cricket and how you made the transition into match officiating.

I played cricket in the streets with the guys and at school, went from primary school where I played in the boys’ team and became the captain of that side. Then into high school, I was the captain of the boys’ team. I then found out from one of my teachers that there’s women’s cricket. So, I transitioned into women’s cricket and some men’s club cricket as well. In terms of officiating, that fell in my lap I suppose.

As a former cricketer, then captain and then level 3 coach, the association came to me and asked me if I wanted to be an umpire and I said “Oh hell no, I cannot do umpiring! I think umpires are crazy, they take too much stress and probably like a beating or two, that’s not for me.”

Then they asked me, “Do you want to be a match referee?” and I was like “Sure, the person who tosses the coin…”, that’s how little I knew about it initially because as a player you don’t really take note of those things too much. Then I got into match refereeing, I became the first female match referee in South Africa and one of only a handful in the world.

In your opinion, what makes an effective match referee? How important is objectivity in this role? 


An effective referee is obviously one that’s impartial and holds the game in the highest regard. At the end of the day, we have to look at what the game expects us to do, you know, the integrity of the match, being fair to all parties and not being biased to anyone, and making sure we hear each case and make sure we look at things holistically before passing judgments.

I think that is one of the key attributes of a match referee, as well as to just be relaxed and calm, you don’t want to be aggressive with your back against the wall first up, you want to have people come and have conversations so that you can work through things.

Typically, what I do in my pre-series meetings is, we speak to the captains and coaches, and just say "Look we’re human beings first, let’s deal with each other with the necessary dignity and respect because that’s what everyone wants." Everyone just wants to be treated like a decent human being.

How do you mentally prepare yourself before every game? 


My mental preparation for the game is simple. I’ve got to read through all the different playing conditions and then prepare the documents and look at the compositions of our player control team like the umpires and who we’re working with. I mentally prepare myself for the different personalities and of course the teams, you look at the team you are going to be officiating with. Most of the time it’s just making sure everything I do is in order and all my documents are in order. Then I communicate with the guys I’ll be working alongside and just try to stay as relaxed as possible, and enjoy it because I absolutely love what I’m doing.

You, along with Lauren Agenbag, were selected as match referee and umpire respectively in the second men’s SA20 tournament. How do you feel as a female (of colour) in the male arena? What effect can this have on women’s cricket in SA?


Of course, it’s fantastic to be part of the set-up with myself and Lauren (Agenbag). It’s just nice to be afforded the opportunity. In any kind of sport, whether you’re male or female in any race or ethnic group, just knowing that there are now opportunities for everyone, simply if you are good enough, that you can work in any sphere.

If the ceiling is broken for the next generation, it’s always nice to be able to be the person that someone can look up to and see that there is now another stream for sportswomen to aspire to. You don’t just have to make it in playing anymore, or scoring, there are opportunities in coaching, match officiating, umpiring, etc. It’s fantastic for me to know that we are one of the few people that get the opportunity to break that ceiling and set an example for the next generation to come and open the doors for the next generation.

Obviously, that comes with a huge responsibility, so we take it very seriously and I am really honoured to be part of this. We are the heroes that we were looking for growing up because there weren’t many female officials anywhere in the world of sport. Now in the modern age, we are part of that groundbreaking individuals to open the doors for the next generation and that’s absolutely wonderful.

What did you look forward to most in the SA20 tournament? Did you have any specific goals? 


For me, I looked forward to the entire experience of just working with a different group of people, you know, one of the firsts in South Africa. It’s wonderful to see stadiums packed for this kind of competition. So the focus is always on interacting with different people and learning as much as I can from everyone because in this game you never know anything. It's important to pick up all these little pearls of wisdom from people around you, not just officials or players or coaches but also support staff and the venue managers etc. I'm always trying to learn from them as much as I can and as quickly as I can.

In 2023, CSA announced equal remuneration for both men and women players. What were your thoughts and feelings on this decision? 


Wonderful, wonderful news! I was really happy because I played in the era when we didn’t get paid to play. You get a remuneration or a stipend after a tour, which obviously won’t sustain you and you still had to have another job, study and have a family life, travel to and from cricket, and go to the gym at your own expense.

Now, it’s a viable career for young female cricketers, so I was absolutely elated and I hope that it may continue and that the newer players who are benefitting from this understand that there was a hard road prior to them earning equal pay and that they take the responsibility quite seriously because there’s generations and generations of female cricketers who’ve fought hard for them to be able to earn the same kind of salaries as the men do.     

Who were your cricket heroes growing up? Any favourite player(s)? 


My cricketer hero for sure is Jacques Kallis the king! I believe he’s the ultimate cricketer, I don’t think anyone will come close and that’s my humble opinion. I believe he is the most complete cricketer we’ve ever had in my time that I can remember, batting, bowling and fielding-wise. And just an all-round general fantastic human being. I remember seeing him the first time playing, and then you start moving in the same circles, you see them at similar events. And every time, like last year when we were in India doing the Legends League, he was always the same, always kind, always gracious, and he always had time for a word or two. So, for me, no one compares to the king, Jacques Kallis.

How do you balance work-life and family life? 


Well, my family and fiancé are really good, they know that when it’s work, it’s work. Summer is work for me, so I’m away most of the time. However, I have the luxury of being home in winter and supporting them where they need to be supported.

Ja, I’ve been playing sport since I was very young and have been travelling since very young, so it’s nothing new for them to have me back and forth, in and out of the country or around the country and then back home again.  

What do you do to relax or take a break? 


I’ve recently actually enjoyed the beach again so I typically will go to the beach in the morning, go for a bit of a swim until the sun starts pumping and then get back home, and relax. Maybe I read a book, watch a documentary or spend time with my nephews and nieces.  

Do you have any pets? 


No pets at the moment as both my Fiancée and I travel quite a bit, so it won't be fair to have a pet around.

What is your favourite dish? 


Lamb Curry

What TV series are you currently following? 


I like to watch slightly older stuff, so what I watch over and over is Friends, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Good Doctor. Those are the types of series I like to watch.

What 5 songs are on your playlist right now? 


Kali Uchis – I wish you roses

Jamiroquai – Blow your mind

Mariah Carey – Stay the night

Toni Braxton – Speaking in tongues

Heritage singers – Someone is praying for you

Who inspires you most, on and off the field? 


My inspiration comes from God and my mom and dad affording me the opportunity. I don’t know what I did to be so privileged to be able to work in cricket after playing for so long. So that in itself is an inspiration, to have the opportunity to travel all over the world, all over the country, watch the game you love and call it a job I mean I’m sure many of us would do it for free, but ja for me that is inspiration enough.

The sacrifice of my parents working hard so I can have everything I need to go on these tours and represent in any format, whether it be coaching, playing, or officiating, is an inspiration.

Working with my colleagues who are probably much older than I am. The learnings and the kindness in the way they treat me, whilst they share their incredible knowledge.

And then those people who used to sponsor me back in the day when I played at the Old Mutual cricket club.

Mr. Hodgkinson, even Eugene Jacobs and Albertus Kennedy, some of the older CEOs, were just good people who took care of me and helped me along my journey. There are so many. I mean I feel bad mentioning only 3 but the opportunity to be supported by so many people that’s inspiration itself. 

You cannot be resting on your laurels when you’ve been afforded the opportunity. So that’s it, I am simply grateful, to work in this field is an absolute dream come true.