With cricket having not been his original calling, Nicky van den Bergh managed to fill a fortunate void at the Imperial Lions only in his late 20s to eventually cement his place as one of the top wicketkeeper-batsmen on the domestic scene, writes Marc Jacobson.
A qualified lawyer by trade, Van den Bergh wasn’t in the original pecking order of becoming the ‘next big thing’ in terms of cricket, but, instead, his main focus was channeled into his studies and white collar career.
“Cricket was never really a massive and realistic option for me. There were always guys ahead of me who were sort of earmarked as the next big thing,” Van den Bergh told Cricket Fanatics Magazine.
“I was just this Afrikaans kid from Potch (Potchefstroom). More of my focus was just having a nice time [on the field] and a lot of my focus was on my law studies.
“For me, personally, it was really pleasing to get my law degree, pass my bar exam and to qualify as a lawyer. I also started working as a lawyer before making my debut for the Lions.”
With Van den Bergh mainly having plied his trade as a provincial player for most of the last decade, he only became a regular for the Lions in franchise cricket in 2018, at the ripe age of 29.
“I was still able to play for North West in semi-pro cricket, while still putting in the necessary hours and work at the firm. Only after I was admitted as a fully-fledged attorney did I make my debut for the Lions [ahead of the 2016/17 season].”
It was then when his destiny as a cricketer came to fruition. After a few good seasons with North West and indirectly due to the match-fixing scandal that plagued domestic cricket four years ago, Van den Bergh made his belated breakthrough.
“I only got a real crack because of the match-fixing scandal where a few guys got banned,” he continued.
“At that time, guys like Quinton de Kock and Thami Tsolekile were playing ahead of me at the Lions so it was a never a realistic thing where I could make a living (playing franchise cricket).”
Tsolekile, who was a renowned local wicketkeeper-batsman and who played three test matches for the Proteas in 2004, was subsequently banned from the game for his involvement in match-fixing.
De Kock, the current Proteas skipper, has since then crossed over to play for the Titans.
“Circumstances dictated that I got a shot. The first season went well and they offered me a contract. The second season went well and they offered me a two-year contract.
“Four or five years later I am now captain of the Lions side,” a grateful Van den Bergh added.
The 30-year-old has this past season proved to be a worthy discovery for the Lions after a stalled career, particularly as the team’s primordial glovesman and reliable middle-order batsman.
He managed to capture 14 dismissals in seven innings in the Momentum One Day Cup, 10 of which were catches and four stumpings. His dismissal rate per innings (2.00) was higher than that of any other domestic wicketkeeper who played more than four innings.
With the bat, the Potchefstroom local scored 328 runs at a solid average of 41.00, ranking as the ninth-highest run-scorer in the competition.
“From a one-day perspective, it was really nice for me to bat in the top four – I’ve never really gotten the chance to bat in the top four in white ball cricket before.
“As a keeper at North West and at the Lions before, I always used to bat in five, six or seven to play a finisher-type role. To get a crack and bat in number four this yearwas really nice for me.
“I think I was the only batsman to bat in number four and lower to be in the top 10 run scorers [for the season]. It was nice to get an opportunity up the order and the fact that we ended just second on the log also showed that there were a few good performances put in.”
Van den Bergh captured 19 dismissals in 14 innings in the 4-Day Franchise Series, all of which were catches. He then scored 330 runs at an average of 33.00 with the bat.
The right-handed batsman, however, managed to lead his team to glory in the series and although his figures were slightly more modest in the red-ball format, he said getting the team to cross the line painted the bigger picture for him.
“As captain of the Lions four-day side, it was very pleasing that we won the trophy. I don’t think there have been many sides that have defended the four-day title. From a personal point-of-view, to be captain of a side that managed to do that was very special.
“I would have liked to score a little more runs in the four-day game, but I think this year we played on some trickier wickets so the games that we won were pretty low-scoring.
“That’s why I won’t look too much into the exact stats and numbers. What matters more is that performances were put in to win games and to get the side over the line.”
Growing up, Van den Bergh, who was schooled at Potchefstroom Gimnasium, was a talented overall sportsman, having enjoyed various sporting codes, including tennis, rugby, golf and of course, cricket.
Cricket became his niche as he grew into his teenage years, but his specific role as a wicketkeeper-batsman was still yet to be attained.
“Like most youngsters, I did everything from bowling, batting and keeping. But it was only when I was in high school, in Grade 10, where the only way I could make it into the first team was with the gloves.
“That is where it started to become a priority for me. But even playing for North West and at the start of my Lions career, I was definitely a batter who kept.
“I was never a part-time keeper, but I was more one to think it was important to score an average of between 40 and 50 for your team, while scoring hundreds, and being able to keep.
“Things changed a bit a year or two ago when Enoch Nkwe took over the Lions and the then assistant coach, Wandile Gwavu, and myself spent many hours catching.
“That sort of reignited the passion to really become one of the country’s best glovesman. If you are a batter who can average 50 and also be a really good glovesman, then you could turn into a really great prospect.”
Nicky van den Bergh added that he would like to continue his upward trajectory of form into next season, while helping his team to secure more trophies.
“It would be absolutely fantastic if we could retain the four-day trophy and win it for the third year in a row. That’s a big one.”
