Keegan, the Kid from New Orleans
Keegan Petersen finally announced himself on the international scene with a half century.
“He is very specific around his preparations. He understands his game well and knows what he needs prior to fixtures,” Imraan Khan on Keegan Petersen.
Keegan Petersen could become an all-action cricket figure, he bats, he bowls and he keeps. Two of these three are services that the Proteas might not ever need from him. But he is capable.
He hasn’t bowled much since turning professional and has kept wicket for Dolphins more than he has bowled. Though he now mainly bowls at training, he started bowling leggies as a teen. Wicketkeeping is a recent development. Imraan Khan, his Dolphins coach, needed a substitute wicketkeeper.
“We didn't have a second keeper in our squad,” says Khan. “It was put to him if it was a role he would be considered if there was a need for it. He didn't think twice.”
This probably defines Keegan. According to Imraan Keegan’s words were, 'I will do what the team needs.'
The other day a reporter asked him about his preferred position in the Proteas line-up, and his response was also along these lines. He will bat anywhere where the team feels he is needed. As long as he plays and contributes to the team, he is not fussed about everything else.
“And he kept outstandingly well in the games that we needed to execute that role,” says Khan.
Keegan Petersen is a team man through and through.
In many ways, Keegan is like his father. Both are short men. I think diminutive is the term some would prefer. Diminutive and competitive. According to a few people, Dirk Petersen didn’t give an inch either on the cricket or rugby field. Diminutive and competitive team men.
The first thing that I learned about Dirk Petersen, Dirkie, is that he was a proper team man. The second is that he cried when Keegan made his debut for the Proteas. They were tears of joy.
Dirk Petersen knew how much his son had fought to get to this point. He had come a long way from the days when he couldn’t nail down a permanent slot at Cobras, now Western Province. In his 3 years with the side, Keegan had only started in 7 games. What followed was a bit of a nomadic spell. He played for Knights and Northern Cape before settling at Dolphins in 2020.
It was too bad that his international debut would not be on home soil, the Proteas were on tour to the Caribbean. Anywhere in South Africa, the Petersen family would have made the trip in the same way that everyone had made the trip to Boland Park to watch Keegan make his debut for Boland.
19-year-old Keegan made a 44 that day. Keegan went on to have a two-year semi-pro career with Boland. In his second year with the side, he scooped the award for the semi-professional player of the year. The next year he scooped another CSA award.
The third thing that I learned about Dirkie was that he was an “all-round sportsman.” It’s a phrase that came up a lot as I asked people about him. He played provincial rugby and cricket in his day. He was a fleet-footed fullback and was a good batter for Paarl Cricket Club. He was Umpire Marais Erasmus’ teammate at Paarl.
Years, possibly decades, after his last competitive rugby or cricket match, Dirkie still dresses the part, tracksuits and trainers. This is how many kids he taught remember him. He only dressed formally for classes, he is a teacher at New Orleans Secondary School.
This is where Keegan’s journey started, at New Orleans Secondary School. That is the school that Justin Ontong also attended. Two Proteas is a lot for a community school in Paarl. Not many professional cricketers who make it all the way come directly from community schools.
South Africa has a certain pathway for developing young cricketers. One way or the other, talented youngsters have to pass through the major cricketing schools, Grey College, KES, St. Stithians and others. On average, kids who attend these schools have a better shot at representing South Africa at Under-19 and moving on to professional cricket. Their path is a lot smoother. Those who can’t afford the fees go through scholarships.
Keegan didn’t go down that route. A lot of things about Keegan’s journey are like that. Despite his obvious talent as a youngster, he never played first-team cricket. He started his career at 11, and from 11 through to the time he made the Boland Under-19 side Keegan never played first-team cricket.
In many ways, his path reminds me of Tabraiz Shamsi’s. Shamsi performed very well as a youth, but just never seemed to get the attention he deserved at the time. At 15 Tabraiz attended a camp. He took the most wickets and was the player of the tournament. But he didn’t make the A-side. At semi-pro he only made the Gauteng side after the guy earmarked for the position was called up to the Proteas Under-19 side. Only earned promotion as a place-holder.
Anyway, Keegan stayed on at New Orleans Secondary. His father could have sent him to Paarl Gymnasium, where Justin Ontong completed his education. But he didn’t. It was probably not a financial decision. Dirkie probably kept his kid at New Orleans because he probably felt that he understood Keegan better and knew best needs better than anyone.
There is a King Richard vibe about his attitude towards his son’s cricket career. He always tried to put Keegan’s needs first. Dirkie was never keen on accompanying Keegan to trials. He felt that it diverted attention from Keegan’s abilities and would centre it on him being Keegan’s father.
Dirkie was something of a local legend.
Whatever the reason, Dirkie’s decision to keep Keegan at New Orleans Secondary worked out very well in the end. So well that Keegan debuted for Boland at 19. Not just that, but the technique that has brought him success, allowed him to dominate First-Class cricket and do well at international level, is the technique that his father drilled into him. The two spent countless hours throwing thousands of balls in the nets.
"I have batted the same way since I was a kid. It's because of my dad, he's the only guy I have been working with all my life. I always tell everyone that he probably knows my technique a lot better than me," Keegan shared in the post-match interview following his maiden Test half-century.
And now, he is now his own man because of that technique. In New Orleans, it is no longer Keegan, Dirkie’s boy. It’s now Dirkie, Keegan’s father.
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