Remember the name - Blake Simpson
Blake Simpson hits like a modern T20 player. He can also knuckle down and play a long innings
Blake Simpson is one of the best hitters in the group of young and emerging players. The youngster left the Dolphins to join Northern Cape Heat in search of more game time. Side bar: Northern Cape now have two of the most exciting youngsters. The other one is Steve Stolk. Like that kid.
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You had to be there to see it. Evan Jones didn’t want to give Blake Simpson any width to free his arms, so he aimed at the 20-year-old’s big toe. Simpson took his left foot out of the way, caught the ball on the rise, and launched it over it the long-on boundary. It was an incredible stroke.
The shot took him to 32 off 13 deliveries. Most importantly, it left the Dolphins in need of 19 runs from eight balls for victory against the Lions. The Dolphins were in a pickle when Simpson arrived at the crease. Their top four and most senior batters were back in the shed for 60 runs. They needed 75 runs from 34 balls.
Simpson wanted to hit boundaries from the first ball he faced, that was not to be. He struggled to connect with the ball early in his innings so much so that his first boundary was off a leading edge. By the time he had faced an over’s worth of deliveries Simpson had seven runs to his name and the Dolphin’s required run rate had climbed to 15.
Those six balls were all Simpson needed to get his eye in. Simpson scored 25 runs of the next eight deliveries he faced. Twenty-four of those 25 runs came off boundaries, three fours and two sixes. You have to buy the ticket to have hope of winning the lotto. Simpson had bought one for the Dolphins.
Nineteen runs from eight balls gave them a chance at winning, but only if Simpson stayed to the end. He did.
The Dolphins went into the final over needing 16 to win. Siya Plaatjie decided not to give Simpson any width, so he went full and straight. Simpson almost deposited the ball on the roof back over the bowler’s head. Plaatjie went short, with the second ball, Simpson hooked it over the fielder on the long leg boundary for another six.
The Dolphins now needed four from four. Plaatjie fired in a great delivery that Simpson couldn’t do much with. The teenager squeezed a single off it. Nqobani Mokoena, who was at the other end, scampered for another single off the fourth ball.
Plaatjie went full and straight, aiming for Simpson’s big toe, with his fifth delivery. Simpson gave himself room and drilled the ball straight down the ground. The shot secured victory for the Dolphins and he finished the match unbeaten on 49 off 18 balls.
The innings firmly established Blake Simpson as a prospect for the future.
Simpson looked like a prospect right off the bat. The first shot he hit at Penzance Primary School was straight back over the coach’s head. It landed at the top of a tree at least 40 metres away. The shot would have cleared the field and earned him six runs in a match situation. However, in this instance, he was facing throwdowns.
“I was going through a sequence of shots to see if he could defend his stumps. The first one was a forward defence. I threw the ball and he hit it to the top of the tree,” Zayne Bux, Simpson’s long time coach, shared.
Penzance was Simpson’s second stop. His journey began on the front lawn of their home, situated on their family farm in Harding. His father recognised his potential early and constructed a net for him as an eighth birthday present. It was the best present for the youngster. Simpson responded by spending the majority of his free time in there.
Simpson made a mark for himself as a leg-spinner when he exported his talents beyond their farm. He first showcased his skills at school and then ran circles around bowlers at the u11 tournament. Word of his talent as a spinner spread in the KZN cricket circles and Penzance offered him a scholarship.
Simpson’s love for batting was apparent from the first session he had with Bux, and the coach was only happy to help him develop that part if his game. The coach helped him to tighten his technique and develop a compact defensive game.
According to Bux, Simpson practiced almost every day and was a permanent fixture at the night academy where they trained under lights with coloured balls. The off-season work yielded fruits and begun his ascent from the lower order.
The climb was complete when he was selected to open for the KZN Coastal u12 team in a match against KZN Inland. Simpson marked the occasion with a century. It was also his maiden ton in organised cricket. Simpson’s success at Penzance and in the junior provincial sides earned him a scholarship at Westville Boys’ High, where he continued his growth as a batter.
Simpson’s fondest memories at Westville were the winter months. The season came with a buzz around the rugby season. Simpson participated in the season by playing second team rugby. He also featured in a few first team matches.
“My most memorable innings in high school was probably in the 100-ball final versus Kearsney where I made 70-odd off 40 balls,” Simpson reflected on his career at Westville.
Simpson furthered his reputation as a big hitter with a blistering 56-ball 118 to lead KZN u17 to the title at the CSA u17 inter-provincial tournament. A year later, Simpson carved an unbeaten 153 off 103 for Coastal Conquerers at the 2024 Cubs Week.
Thirty-seven for three is not a good place to be in the first session of a three-day match. But, that is the position the Dolphins Colts found themselves in against Northern Cape Colts. The task to rebuild the innings lay on Blake Simpson and Slade van Staden’s shoulders.
Simpson was supposed to bat at number eight. His bowling hadn’t atrophied as his batting developed, he worked on it just as much. It was good enough for the Dolphins Colts to play him as a bowling all-rounder. Then one of the top six batters suffered an injury during the prematch warm up, and Simpson was now batting at number five.
Simpson shelved his extravagant shots and knuckled down to resurrect the game. He constructed an innings that Sam Mofokeng, the Dolphins Colts coach, would later describe as a mature knock. Simpson faced a century of dot balls, ran 26 singles, legged 12 twos and a couple of threes on his way to a match-winning 154-ball 103.
What made the innings even more impressive was that Simpson battled his way through cramps and soreness. The weather in Kimberley was unforgiving when they played the game.
“He showed that he was ready for 4-day cricket. He left well, blocked well, rotated strike well. It was a chanceless and mature innings,” Mofokeng shared.
Simpson’s knock set the Dolphins up for a comfortable victory by an innings and three runs. It was also affirmed that he is a well-rounded player and not just a thrasher. To show that the innings wasn’t a fluke, Simpson fashioned a patient 98 against the Free State Colts a few months later.
“He has made that made that mental switch that he wants to become an elite performer. Blake has knuckled down and settled down into a consistent performer,” Mofokeng added.
Like Bux, Mofokeng refused to take credit of Simpson’s success in the middle. They point to his tireless work behind the scenes as the reason. The right-hander has dreams of playing in the IPL and making the Proteas’ 2031 World Cup squad. Both coaches have no doubt that Simpson is on track to achieve both.
You have to watch him in action to understand why they have faith in his potential.
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