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Everyone remembers how Virat Kohli led India to a title win in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia. But does anyone remember how many runs he scored in the final or how he got out? Not many, surely.
You can still find a Cricinfo article written by George Benoy after the final titled “Move over Jonty, here comes Engelbrecht”. If one person in the world remembers how Kohli got out that day against South Africa, it would definitely be Sybrand Engelbrecht.
He took a blinder at backward point to dismiss Kohli and an even more spectacular one to get rid of the tournament’s top-scorer Tanmay Shrivastava. And he later affected a brilliant run-out to send back Iqbal Abdulla.
But none of them was his best effort. To see the best of Engelbrecht, type “Best ever catch in cricket history” and you’ll find a video of a catch taken by him from the 2008 tournament against Papua New Guinea uploaded from a random YouTube channel with 507 subscribers.
South Africa never lacked fielding talent. Colin Bland, Peter Kirsten, Jonty Rhodes, AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma are some of the best in the history.
But the most avid follower of South African cricket won’t probably mention the name of Engelbrecht. Because unlike these players, he could never make it to international cricket. In the South African domestic circuit too, he has become a largely forgotten name too, having played his last professional game there seven years ago.
His LinkedIn bio says, “Equipped with a proven track record of success, with more than 7 years in the financial services industry and a decade as a professional sportsman, an unwavering commitment to excellence, and an innovative mindset, I am ready to take on the challenge of leading teams to unprecedented achievements.”
A successful professional, Engelbrecht joined Providence Hotels based in South Africa and the UK as a business development director in January. He has an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch Business School, a course he completed while playing domestic cricket in South Africa.
But life, indeed, is a box of chocolates. Seven years after his last professional game and seven days before his 35th birthday, Engelbrecht earned a highly unlikely World Cup call-up.
After being left out of Cobras’ contract list, the off-spinning all-rounder averaging more than 40 in First-class and List A cricket moved to the Netherlands, a country having a large South African-born contingent. He continued to play unrecognised club cricket in the Netherlands for Voorburg Cricket Club in their domestic 50-over competition.
Engelbrecht had his eligibility cleared by the ICC last month and was named in the Netherlands A squad that played Guernsey. He hit 43* and 107* in limited-overs fixtures.
Now, he is no stranger to Ryan Cook, the head coach of the Netherlands team. “SA [Engelbrecht] and I have walked a long journey together, I coached him back when he was at the Cobras. He moved out to the Netherlands a few years back and has been here plying his trade since, we enquired with the ICC about his eligibility about a month ago. It’s fantastic just to broaden the player pool, he’s been doing very well for his club here and put in some good performances against Guernsey for the A side,” said Cook.
More often than not, the 12th man takes the field when someone walks off. But in the 2009 Newlands Test against Australia, South Africa made an exception by having Engelbrecht as the substitute fielder instead of Wayne Parnell, the designated 12th man. He was also not part of the playing XI when he took that sensational catch against Papua New Guinea. It looked like he was part of the squad just because of his fielding.
He could never become the next Jonty Rhodes, as predicted by many in South Africa, but cricket has given him a second chance and Sybrand Abraham “SA” Engelbrecht – the blond bundle of energy – should grab it with both hands.
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