Gerald Coetzee: The Proteas' Enforcer
He was a last-minute addition, and he is making the most of his opportunity
“When I slip over the rope, my competitive side just kicks in. It's like second nature. And I think that in its essence is almost the catalyst for everything else that I do.” - Gerald Coetzee.
At seven, Gerald Coetzee was at the right place at the right time. He showed up for a KFC mini-cricket game and the rest is history.
Coetzee and a few other kids were taking a shy at the stumps as they waited for the game to begin. In a single motion, Coetzee picked up the ball and threw it at the stumps, and it resulted in a direct hit. It just so happened that when Coetzee made the direct hit, an Under-9 coach had just arrived at the mini-cricket ground. The Under-9 F team was one player short and he needed someone with decent ability. The KFC mini-cricket coach pointed to Coetzee and told his colleague, “You can take that one.”
Coetzee’s mini-cricket career ended before it started. At seven years old, he was one of the smaller players, if not the smallest. But that didn’t matter. Coetzee gave his Under-9 F team all he had. He swung the bat as hard as he could, bowled as fast as his spindly arms could allow and hustled into the field. There were kids with more talent in that team. Coetzee had more love for the game.
“I loved the game so much, I would spend more time practising it, which gave me an advantage over other kids who maybe played cricket but didn't love it as much,” says Coetzee.
The Under-9 F gave him a foot in the door and Coetzee breezed through. Before the year was out, Coetzee had climbed through the ranks and was one of the players the school kept their eyes on.
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Up until the fifth of September, Gerald Coetzee had not been in South Africa’s plans for the ODI World Cup. At the time, he had only featured in four ODIs, two against the West Indies and two against Australia. He had taken 11 wickets at an average of 18.54 and an economy of 6.08. He also had a strike rate of 18.2. His best shot was the 2027 edition.
Then Anrich Nortje got injured. South Africa needed someone with raw pace and Rob Walter took a punt on Gerald Coetzee, whom he called just hours before the announcement of the Proteas World Cup squad. It was so late at night Coetzee could not immediately call his family to share the news. He had to wait till morning.
As fate would have it, the official team announcement was held at the same school where Coetzee made his Under-9 F debut, Grey College. And as he did with the Under-9 F team, Coetzee has given this opportunity everything he has and then some. His celebrations have become a talking point. They are passionate, emotional… intense. As far as speed is concerned, so far in the World Cup, Coetzee has pushed the speed needle up to the 150 kph mark. But, that has not been the highlight of Coetzee’s tournament.
His middle overs performance, where he has put the bouncer to good use, rushing batters with his pace and bounce. No Proteas bowler has been striking as often as Coetzee. The 23-year-old has the best strike rate in the middle overs for South Africa since 2020. What makes this impressive is that he has played more World Cup matches than bilaterals. He has honed his skills at the highest level of 50-over cricket.
Coetzee has the best strike among the top wicket-takers for South Africa in the middle overs at the 2003 World Cup. That strike is still the best when you zoom out and compare him to the top 10 wicket-takers for South Africa at the World Cup in the past 20 years.
As of 10 November 2023, Coetzee was the leading wicket-taker for South Africa at the ODI World Cup and also the highest wicket-taker in a single World Cup edition for South Africa with 18 scalps. He is followed by Lance Klusener, Morne Morkel and Marco Jansen tied on 17. Allan Donald rounds up the top five with 16. Coetzee also has the best strike rate among these five bowlers.
And if you compare him to the other leading wicket-takers at the 2023 World Cup, Coetzee’s numbers still look outstanding. He has taken the joint-second most wickets at the tournament. He is tied with Sri Lanka’s Dilshan Madushanka and two scalps away from equaling Adam Zampa’s 20. Coetzee also has the second-best strike rate among the top 20 wicket-takers at the 2023 showpiece.
His role, the enforcer role, is a high-impact role. It comes with the freedom to bowl aggressive lines in the middle overs, which is risky because there is a high probability of going for runs. On good days he dominates and takes wickets. Coetzee takes the good and bad days in stride, just as he did when he made the Under-9 F team.
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Thanks for reading. Until next time… - CS