Hard work, humility, high spirits – Annerie Dercksen’s formula for life and cricket

How has life in India been for you so far? 

We’ve been very busy. We’ve travelled quite a bit, and our games have been back-to-back. It’s been awesome. We got to see a lot of the country. The people and facilities have been amazing. Flying over India and seeing the countryside has been really cool. 

Did you have a day off after the win against India? 

Everyone was extremely tired after that game. The emotions were high, and we all slept quite late. There was such an adrenaline rush, stress, happiness – our emotions were all over the place. Everyone struggled to sleep (laughs). 

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We saw some joyous celebrations on the field. Did that continue into the night?

We obviously were very happy on the field that we won. We were just happy about getting out of that position where you probably shouldn’t have won the game. But we still know that it’s only the group stages and we’ve got a long way to go. Our goal is to win the World Cup. After that, we might celebrate. And I think after that, we might celebrate.

South Africa had a tough game against England right at the start. Did the team do anything differently to raise morale? 

We didn’t make a lot of it as a team. We sat down after the game in the changing room and said, ‘It’s probably a bit embarrassing.’ We knew we were much better than that 69. We took it in our stride. New Zealand coming around quickly after that helped us. We didn’t have too much to dwell on that loss. Fortunately, we ended on the right side of that, and it kicked off some momentum for us. 

After an embarrassing 10-wicket loss to England, South Africa has recovered admirably with victories against New Zealand, India and Bangladesh.
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The campaign has recovered quite commendably. Are you, as a side, more confident about your knockout chances now? 

We knew we had to beat some of the bigger teams to ensure our place in the semifinal.

Beating New Zealand and India has not given us a leeway per se, but it has made that road to the knockouts a little easier. That said, Pakistan almost upset Australia recently. We lost to Sri Lanka earlier this year. We’ve got Australia in the final game. So by no means will we be resting ono ur laurels and think we’re comfortable. 

You’ve had a meteoric rise in international cricket. How has that experience been?

I’d like to think I am still the same person. I come from a very humble background, a small farm in a rural area. I’ve been privileged to have this start to my career, but I know that cricket’s a funny game and one day you’re on top and the next day you’re down at the bottom. 

You can go from hero to zero pretty quickly. I am grateful to be in this space, but I know it’s important to keep working and never take anything for granted.

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At what point in your life did you realise cricket was going to be your career?

I saw the South African women play for the first time in 2017. That’s when I realised that the women’s game exists. I come from a small town where there weren’t any women besides me playing cricket. I played with the boys for the fun of it. 

I never thought then that it could be a career. When I watched the side in 2017, it was a faraway dream. When I got selected for the SA side and was singing the anthem, and realised, my word, I want to do this for the rest of my life. That’s probably where the penny dropped.

How has your upbringing shaped you as a person and a cricketer? 

I was just talking to my brother the other day, and we reflected on how we wouldn’t want to change a thing about the paths that brought us here. I wouldn’t have played cricket if I didn’t have just my brother as a friend. 

My roots, my hometown, have shaped my choices and my outlook on life. It’s helped me never feel like I am better than anyone else. I like the simple things. I am not one for flashy stuff. Hopefully I stay that way forever. If I don’t, I hope that someone smacks me and says, “Hey, listen! Please get down to earth again.”

Annerie has played a host of other sports before making her cricket her only discipline
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Instagram/Annerie Dercksen

Has your life and your family’s changed since you became a cricketer?

This is my first job. So I wouldn’t say my life has changed too much. I’ve probably invested my money a bit. I’m looking at maybe life after cricket. Life after cricket will hopefully be a bit longer than life in cricket. 

I like simple things in life. I don’t spend my money on expensive watches or stuff like that, I am just hoping to set up a good future. 

What’s the most expensive thing that you’ve bought? 

I’ve bought a house as an investment recently.

But that’s not a flashy thing, it’s an investment.

It’s a flashy-ish purchase (laughs). Oh I bought an iPad! Or my car. A Toyota Corolla Cross. It’s a nice car, not too flashy, and does the job pretty well. They say it’s reliable, so I am banking on it lasting for the next 10 years. 

You’ve dabbled in many other sports earlier. What have you carried in terms of skills from them into cricket? 

I tried to play a bit of tennis, but I wasn’t too great at it. All other sports involve getting the ball into the net, so I wasn’t too great at tennis. (laughs)

I was in the provincial teams for everything except hockey. I played hockey for two years. 

My mother was also quite a good athlete. She used to coach almost everything we did, being in a small town. She knew nothing about cricket though. But the one thing she would tell me about cricket is that, like in other sports, your head position plays a big role. 

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I did well in shot put, javelin, discus throw, athletics and then netball. In cricket, it’s probably more relevant – the bit about the head. It helps with spatial awareness and in reading the gaps and trying to place the ball there or in defending those gaps too. There are transferable skills in terms of tactics that helped build a nice foundation. 

Playing all those sports also contributed to agility, strength, and power.

How supportive were your family members when you decided to take up cricket seriously? 

My family has been very supportive of me and my brother in everything we’ve done. I couldn’t have asked for better parents. They had only one condition. They told me I can play whichever sport I want or do whatever I want, but I have to make sure I study something. 

In sports, injuries can happen. You never know how long your career might be. They wanted me to have some security to fall back on. I am glad they forced me to make that decision because I made some incredible friends through that process, learned a lot about myself, and developed self-discipline. 

The Derksen Family
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Instagram/Annerie Dercksen

Them not knowing too much about cricket, does that help you to properly relax when you go back home? 

(Laughs) It’s amazing. My brother keeps telling me, whenever I am at home, that I’ve got to do my chores and that I am not some big cricket star. I think they get pretty angry at me because during our Christmas holidays, cricket is usually on TV. 

The men usually play a Test series somewhere around then. I just sit there for five days and watch and they’d walk into the room and be like, ‘You can’t still be watching cricket.’ 

I am not sorry, I am pretty obsessed with the game!

It’s good to have family and friends who don’t know much about cricket. They couldn’t care less. It’s important to have people like that in your life. Maybe when things aren’t going too well, they wouldn’t know and would be nice about it. (chuckles)

If you hadn’t taken up cricket, where would you have been today? 

I would have probably done something in business. I’ve done a couple of short courses in business management and accounting, and accounting was my favourite subject in school too. 

How does it feel being an all-rounder, seeing the importance of dual-skill players in this tournament?  

It’s difficult sometimes at training to juggle enough time to sort out each facet of your game. But it’s really enjoyable. We saw in the last game with Nadine. She got smashed with the ball. 

Kappie (Marizanne Kapp) then told her in the changing room, “Don’t worry, you’re going to smash them in the batting.” That’s just how it works as an all-rounder sometimes. She came out and did just that.

The difficult part is spending enough time on each element and making sure you’re not neglecting anything. I pride myself on my fielding, and that’s also going to get some time. It’s difficult to juggle, but I won’t change it at all. 

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How starstruck were you when you saw Kapp in the flesh? How has your relationship developed since? 

It’s crazy. I met her the day before she handed me my cap for my debut. To be honest, I was really scared of her. When you see Kappie on TV, she’s fierce, she’s staring at people, making big features. I was worried about doing the wrong thing and just generally scared of her. She turned out to be a big softie, though. She’s very friendly and very caring. You won’t see that on TV. When she steps over the line, it’s like white line fever. She becomes a different person. 

We get along very well. I’ve been very privileged. She has taken me under her wing and given me plenty of advice on things on and off the field – how to train, how to rest etc. It’s been absolutely amazing getting to learn from her. I have to pinch myself every day that I get to do all of this with these great people. It’s very cool. 

Do you still get the same way around her?

I still do. Not just her, too. There was a cricket magazine in South Africa. It got passed around the school bus, and Laura Wolvaardt was on the cover. I still remember the first U-19 week when I got to play with Western Province and we were rooming in the same hostel and seeing Wolfie and being stunned. 

I am fortunate to call her a friend and I think the likes of Chloe (Tryon), Ayabonga Khakah and Masabata Klaas are all people I looked up to since that 2017 World Cup. I get to share a dressing room and the field with them. It’s amazing. 

Who were your earliest coaches in cricket? And how did they shape you up to be who you are today? 

We had a guy who coached my brother, Neil Null. I think he knew a bit of cricket, played at university level. He made the game so much fun for us. He would talk in funny duck voices and smash tennis balls as hard as he could at us, and we’d try to catch it and make little competitions of that. 

I had to wait for my brother before we could go back to the farm. I used to sit in the car. One day he just asked me to join them. He taught me about bowling and batting. Not too technical, but very fun and a lot of enjoyment. I am very grateful to him. 

And then came the school coaches. In high school, we had some guy’s parent; he was also a farmer. He would drive into town twice a week and coach us a bit. I am grateful to everyone who sacrificed their time without any real compensation to make it fun for us and coach cricket, and teach us some life skills along the way.

Growing up, did you have any other idols?

Before the 2017 World Cup, I never thought of cricket as being a career. So I probably didn’t look up to any cricketers. My brother and I did this silly thing of pasting cutouts of sports stars on our bedroom doors. I had pictures of Erin Burger, Amanda Mynhardt, and Karla Pretorius. They were all like, they played for the Proteas, but the netball team. 

I still thought I was going to be a netball player. Yeah, that was like, got it in the newspaper, put their faces on the wall. My brother had cutouts of a lot of rugby players. We competed over whose bedroom door looks the coolest. The doors are now clear, decorated with normal stuff (laughs).

In cricket, I’ve enjoyed watching Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis. I didn’t look up to them in thinking, “Oh, I could do that too.” That changed after the 2017 World Cup. 

Why did you transition from spinner to seamer? 

I ask myself that question every single day now, especially when playing in India or subcontinental conditions, when it’s so hot and you have to run 20 meters while the spinners just walk by and start to bowl. (laughs) 

It wasn’t my idea. Once when we were playing in Bangladesh, I just ran in for the fun of it and bowled a bouncer. I didn’t think anything of it. I was just being crazy, as I usually am. One of the coaches saw it, and I think our analyst said I have to be a seamer.

At that stage, I thought the most exciting thing ever was getting to run in and bowl a bouncer, so that’s all I could do in the first year. I ran in and bowled bouncers. 

Our bowling coach, Dillon du Preez, has played a massive role. He’s tried to get me to hit different lines and lengths. It’s very difficult to get a 22-year-old to try and learn a fast bowling action after being a spinner for so long. There are still times when I look at my action and think I don’t even know how the ball goes on the pitch.

A lot of hard work has been put into that. Hopefully, one day I can sort of reap the rewards of it. I’m still trying to convince the coach to maybe make me a hybrid bowler; be a seamer when needed and a spinner when needed. They haven’t latched onto that idea, though.

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From having someone else’s poster on your walls to becoming popular yourself, how does that journey feel? 

A girl in my town gave a speech about me the other day. My father sent me that video and I was taken aback! Someone cannot be making a speech about me. I never thought I could be someone’s hero. We’re just people chasing around the field. 

It also made me realise that we have a responsibility as people being in the public eye. Not that I think we’re very famous, myself definitely. 

Does your family still live in the same place where you grew up? 

We moved to town when I was 15. But my grandfather still stays on the farm, and it’s pretty surreal going back there, going back to my roots. After travelling around like this, I always feel like I need to go home for a bit to be in the nothingness. And then I feel recharged again.

“I’m really not motivated by personal goals. I would really like to win a World Cup. I think very few players have the opportunity to do that. “
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People keep likening you to Kapp – pressure or motivation? 

I’m very flattered, but Kappie is in a league of her own. It’s pretty surreal that I get to be compared with my idol. But I’m just trying to be the best me for now, and I don’t think anyone will ever get to Kappie’s level.

I wouldn’t say that puts any pressure on me. I’m not too crazy. I don’t really read comments about myself online. I’m actually quite bad on my phone, probably because I come from no electricity. [laughs]

Do you have any goals written down in your career checklist? 

I’m really not motivated by personal goals. I would really like to win a World Cup. I think very few players have the opportunity to do that. 

We’ve been in two finals now, and it’s been a lot of heartbreaks. So hopefully our heartbreaks are over now, and we can have some fun and finally celebrate with a World Cup. 

Kappie is now 35 years old. She’s probably broken every record that we used to break, and she still doesn’t have a World Cup. I think that would probably be the main goal for me. I know that as long as I’m doing my best in whatever I’m doing, that improves the team’s chances to win a World Cup.

I think I would also really love to get into the leagues one day, like the Big Bash League or WPL, or the Hundred. I’ve heard that it’s quite an experience, and you get a lot of coaching and gain a lot of experience through it. 

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How did the team deal with the heartbreak of the T20 World Cup loss? And how did you personally take it?

In that moment, it didn’t really sink in for me. You don’t really realise what’s just happened because you’re so focused on doing your job and doing what needs to be done. But afterwards, it was probably rough for like three to four weeks. We didn’t have any international cricket. We went back to provincial cricket knowing we’ve lost our opportunity at a World Cup when it was so close. It was heartbreaking. 

The day after we lost that final, the whole team sat down in the meeting room and we all said, ‘Listen guys, obviously everyone’s hurting now, but let’s make sure we do everything we possibly can to make sure that if we’re in that position ever again, we win that game.’ 

We made a decision to put the game behind us. We made a decision to start doing the work to win the next one.