Cricket: Van Wyk eager to take on old mates

Kruger van Wyk. Photo / Duncan Brown

BJ Watling desperately wants another crack at test cricket; Kruger van Wyk just wants a crack.

While Watling has had chances before as a top order batsman, for van Wyk it is simply about shoving his foot through the door and keeping it there.

And for 30-year-old Cornelius Francouis Kruger van Wyk, from Wolmaransstad between Johannesburg and Kimberley in South Africa's northwest province, there is a special motivation to prove he should be the test wicketkeeper.

Zimbabwe next week is one thing; South Africa for a full three-test series in March quite another.

"It would be massive for me," van Wyk said. "It's hard to explain. I would love that opportunity against the guys I grew up with competing against. I've had fierce battles against them and it brings out the best in me."

During his early first-class career at the Northern Titans, van Wyk's teammates included test players AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Morne and Albie Morkel and Dale Steyn.

Watling wants to make keeper's spot his own

Steyn, perhaps the best new ball operator in the test game, and Morne Morkel were the opening attack in van Wyk's time there. He knows them, and their game, intimately.

"I kept to Steyn for the better part of three or four years and I was fortunate to bat against them in the nets a lot and in matches."

Van Wyk arrived in Christchurch in 2006, made a strong impact in his four seasons as a tough battler and highly capable player at Canterbury before shifting to Central Districts for the last two seasons. He qualified for New Zealand early last year and has had about 1 seasons trying to prove himself since then.

There were times he wondered if he would get an opportunity, and acknowledged the occasional struggles to keep persevering during that time when he was not eligible for New Zealand.

"I think it's natural to go through patches where you sometimes wonder, but you hope you'll get an opportunity.

"The biggest thing for me in those four years was that while I didn't qualify, I had to try and make myself a seriously good cricketer, become a consistent performer in first class and one-day and T20 so that once I did qualify I'll feel I've grown massively as a player and be ready."

Van Wyk remembered the hard times when he knew he was playing well but could not be chosen, even for a New Zealand A or Emerging Players side, even if the selectors wanted him.

"My love for the game really kept me going."

And now he's a decent batting display away from making the big stage.

Van Wyk will open the batting for the NZ XI against Zimbabwe in Gisborne starting on Saturday, while his rival Watling has the gloves. The batting numbers of the pair are interesting.

Van Wyk averages 38 over 96 first-class games, with five hundreds, 24 half centuries, mostly batting around No7.

Watling, 26 and originally from Durban came to New Zealand at a young age. He averages 24 from six tests; 33.07 from 58 first-class games, invariably at the top of the order.

In the pre-Christmas Plunket Shield programme, van Wyk scored 359 runs at 71.8; Watling hit 150 in one of his two innings in that period. Last season van Wyk scored 504 runs at 63; Watling 577 at 52.45; in 2008-09, van Wyk scored 518 at 57.55; Watling 352 in half the games at 50.28.

Van Wyk benefited from more not outs, but the point is both are capable batsmen, and that's why they are in this unenviable contest.