Aerial artist, finance whiz, World Cup top-scorer: meet Sybrand Engelbrecht

Sybrand Engelbrecht’s main claims to fame, at one stage, were two stunning catches for South Africa — one of them off Virat Kohli — at the 2008 Under-19 cricket World Cup in Malaysia. The catch off Papua New Guinea’s Alfred Amini — Engelbrecht flew like a bird at gully and caught like a goalkeeper, two-handed — remains one of the best you will ever see in cricket. 

But eight years after that tournament, Engelbrecht retired from cricket, earned an MBA degree from a top business school and built a successful career in finance. His job took him to the Netherlands, and cricket was back in his life, once again. He made an unlikely World Cup debut last month at the age of 35. And finished as the Netherlands’ leading scorer.

In a tournament where the Dutch team’s main batters struggled, he showcased excellent temperament and fine technique, often during rescue acts. He demonstrated he could — that too on the game’s biggest stage — do more than take spectacular catches.

The Netherlands team also proved a point or two, scoring stunning wins over South Africa and Bangladesh. Excerpts from an interview Engelbrecht granted The Hindu at New Delhi:

When did you start dreaming of the World Cup?

It really only started happening once we got the eligibility clearance from the ICC, in July. I had told coach Ryan Cook that I would be keen to put my name in the hat for the selection of the World Cup squad. I asked him if he would consider me. This was just before and during the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. You know, Cooky and I have had multiple discussions. I was helping a couple of the Netherlands batters in the background, throwing a couple of balls at the guys, almost in a coaching and consulting capacity.

So, we have been communicating throughout the year. I asked him — Would he be interested in having me as part of the selection pool? Cooky was brutally honest and said the odds of me getting onto the plane to India were slim because the team had done so well. They needed to give those guys preference, which I absolutely understood. 

But he asked me to be available for everything and score as many runs as possible. And luckily, I went on a bit of a run for my club Voorburg CC at the Topklasse, the highest division of cricket in the Netherlands; it’s a 50 overs competition. And then also made my debut for the Netherlands-A. I made a hundred against Guernsey. I was then selected to the spin camp in Bengaluru.

Before all that, how did you get back to cricket? You had entered an entirely different career.

I was working full-time with Fairtree. But I started playing in 2021 and I thought of an international career again because Ryan and the management staff had created an environment that people wanted to be a part of.

Now, how do you look back at those catches at the Under-19 World Cup?

It happened long, long ago. But it is a fond memory I will look back at for probably the rest of my life. You know, we prided ourselves on our fielding. Our coach Ray Jennings made us spend hours and hours on fielding.

Your memories of Kohli at that World Cup?

Kohli gave signs of the player he would become even back then. He was fantastic in that World Cup. And India had an excellent side you know, with players like Ravindra Jadeja and Tanmay Srivastava. Kohli led well. He played brilliantly. And he batted with a lot of ease. But I feel we should have won that final.

Fifteen years later, some other players from that Under-19 World Cup are here for the World Cup — Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Steve Smith, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Stoinis, Reeza Hendricks, Kusal Perera… They have been playing for their countries for a long time. When you quit cricket, was it a regret that you could not play for the senior South African side?

I tried my best. I gave everything that I could. So, when I stepped away from cricket in 2016, I was happy and I was content. I gave my best, maybe it just wasn’t good enough. Everybody’s journeys are different. Mine just happened to work in this way. Yeah.

At the World Cup you were able to play a couple of matches in front of your mother, Dina, the former gymnast who had qualified for the 1968 Olympics but could not compete because of the apartheid policy in South Africa, your sister and your nephews.

For them to come over to India was fantastic. We don’t get to see them that often as they live in South Africa. When they made the decision to come over to India — to be honest — I didn’t know whether I was going to be in the playing eleven. It was great that I could play in front of my mother, sister, and the little nephews Udo and Flin, who both play cricket.

You may not have imagined that you would make 70, against Sri Lanka, in a World Cup match with your family in the stands…

Yes, and though I was rather pleased with the way I batted, it was disappointing that we could not win that game. I suppose the metric changes the older you get. Whether we are playing Sri Lanka or Australia or whoever it is, it is about what I can do to try and help the team win.

Who were the cricketers you looked up to, growing up, back in South Africa?

Jonty Rhodes was, of course, an idol. I admired guys like Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn and A.B. de Villiers. They were all world class players. I think we were fortunate in an era to watch them play and to cheer for them.

Which Indian cricketers have you admired?

Sachin Tendulkar was always a fantastic player to watch. Virat and K.L. Rahul are also brilliant to watch, something I have done at home, on television. The amount of pressure that those guys are under and for them to consistently perform the way they do is remarkable.