Heinrich Klaasen 2.0
Heinrich Klaasen is operating in Beast Mode
On Friday 15 September 2023, Heinrich Klaasen and Adam Zampa got together to make history at Supersport Park. They contributed to the highest ODI total scored at Supersport Park. Klaasen scored an impressive 174 (the second-highest individual score at the stadium) and Zampa conceded the most runs by a bowler on the ground.
Adam Zampa’s last four deliveries were a microcosm of his afternoon. Heinrich Klaasen hammered 20 runs off them. That’s five runs a delivery. Thanks to Klaasen, Zampa ended his afternoon with figures identical to Mick Lewis, another Australian who had a waking nightmare in South Africa. Lewis conceded 113 runs in 10 overs and went wicketless against South Africa in 2006. 44.25% of the 113 runs conceded by Zampa came off Klaasen’s bat.
Klaasen made an excellent bowler look incapable of functioning in his chosen profession. There are distinct levels in spin-bowling. There’s the elite group and the rest of the spinners. Zampa belongs to the elite group. He is one of the best limited overs spinners of this era. Despite today’s hammering, Zampa still has respectable figures. He has an average of 28.1, an economy of 5.49 and a strike rate of 31.5. Compared to other active ODI spinners, he is in the top percentile.
If these two had faced off in the years between 2018 and December 2021, Zampa would have run circles around Klaasen and left him bamboozled. From his debut in 2018 to December 2023, Klaasen had a single century and three fifties to his name. He averaged 32.26 at a strike rate of 93.73 in 23 ODI innings. In that period, he struck 12 sixes and 57 fours.
These figures are an antithesis of Klaasen. He is a natural shot-maker. He made his name as an attacking middle-order batter and that is what earned him his debut in 2018. He showed the world what he is about in his second international match where he scored an unbeaten 43 off 27 to power the Proteas to an unlikely win. But, that version of Heinrich Klaasen soon disappeared because the selectors valued consistency over match-winning innings.
This newsletter is completely reader-supported. If you’re willing and able, please consider supporting it in one of two ways, leaving a tip or becoming a Patreon. Thank you so much for your time and investment!
Early in his international career, Klaasen played his natural game and fell cheaply in two consecutive matches. He was dropped. Unlike most teams where a dropped person is automatically second in line for a place back into the team, Klaasen found himself at the bottom of the pile. After working his way back, using his aggressive game, Klaasen adopted a conservative approach in a bid to secure his place in the team.
The 2018 to 2021 version of Heinrich Klaasen was cautious, tentative and afraid of failure. Things didn’t work out well for that version of Klaasen because he was working against his instincts, against himself. His returns with the bat were mediocre. Then things changed.
David Bedingham’s mindset and approach to the game shifted after he suffered a life-threatening accident. Near-death experiences have that effect on many athletes. For some, it is the marriage or the birth of their kids. Reeza Hendricks’ perspective shifted after the birth of his son, Callum.
One of the things that changed Klaasen was contracting Covid-19 in 2021. He couldn’t do basic things for about 17 days. After the worst of the illness was over, Klaasen tried to return to training to build his capacity and work his way back to cricket. He struggled. When he tried to run 20 to 30 metres or try to do anything for a few minutes his heart rate would shoot up. As part of his recovery program, Klaasen was supposed to exercise for 10 to 15 minutes and walk about 200 meters. He couldn’t do that either.
When he returned, Klaasen resolved to play cricket on his own terms.
The other thing that helped was that Klaasen developed an ability to silence his mind. By his own confession, Klaasen is an over-thinker and used to over-think cricket. Batters have less than a second to react to bowlers in international cricket, an average of 0.91 seconds against spinners and an average of 0.53 seconds against pacers. A thinking batter is a batter in trouble because their brain gets in the way of executing moves they spent a lifetime learning.
With a quietened mind, Klaasen is no longer going over a million options, thinking, worrying, calculating, hoping, or fearing in the short period from the moment the bowler releases the ball and when it gets to him. There is no longer a battle between his brain and muscle memory. He is calmer and trusts his instincts. This has allowed him to pare down his game.
The result has been Heinrich Klaasen 2.0.
Since January 2022, Klaasen has scored over 1700 in 56 T20 matches at a strike rate of 154.14 for an average of 39.79. He scored 96 sixes and 116 fours in the process. He has been equally belligerent in ODI cricket. Since January 2022, Klaasen has struck 29 sixes in 14 ODI innings. He has also mashed 62 of his 119 ODI fours in the same period. He has scored two hundreds and two fifties, averaging 58.66 at a strike rate of 135.90.
Zampa ran into Heinrich Klaasen 2.0, the most destructive batter in recent times. Klaasen versus Zampa was not a contest. Klaasen eats spin for breakfast. He wasn't bred on pace and bounce pitches like most of his teammates.
Klaasen learned his trade at Uwe Birkenstock's academy. He was one of the first students and the academy was still rough and ready. As part of their learning, Birkenstock encouraged his pupils to be involved in pitch preparation. Klaasen took that part of his learning seriously. His best friend at the time was a spinner and they prepared spin-friendly pitches most of the time.
During the IPL 2023, Klaasen monstered 19 sixes against spin, which was the second-most sixes against spinners in the tournament. His ability against spin was one of the reasons why the Oval Invincibles signed him for The Hundred. That and his boundary clearing. As of August 16 2023, Klaasen had hit 60 sixes in games with full T20 status this calendar year, the most of any batter in the world. Unlike most South African batters who have better numbers against seam, Klaasen had 31 sixes against spin and 29 against seam.
Klaasen turned Zampa into a bowling machine at his service as he practised range hitting. Klaasen scored a half-century off Zampa's bowling. He scored 50 runs off 17 deliveries for a strike rate of 294.1 against the spinner. His half-ton featured six sixes and two fours. Six of Klaasen’s 13 sixes in the match came off Zampa’s bowling.
There are different kinds of sixes. Some are rockets. They are wondrous and fly like comets. Some are majestic sixes that make you want to stand at attention like Sheldon Cottrell and salute. Others just keep on sailing so much farther than you could ever expect. Klaasen hits all of them. Against Australia, Klaasen muscled 13 sixes, two of them came off Zampa’s last two deliveries.
Like the rest of us, Zampa stood to admire Heinrich Klaasen’s handiwork.
If you found this interesting, please share it:
You can support Stumped! by leaving a tip:
Thanks for reading. Until next time… - CS