Scholsey: Timing is everything
“Kyle doesn’t make excuses, he searches for solutions and that’s what I admire most about him,” says Ashwell Prince.
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The obvious question is always tied to how the player felt during the course of their innings, and what was going through their mind throughout the game. Always, players rely on words and phrases like focus, in the zone, joy, satisfaction, and vindication, because that is the vocabulary for all players.
Kyle Verreynne has an answer for everything. That is just how he is. It is probably a legacy of his upbringing, his father and his older brother have always provided great banter. Both played cricket as youngsters, and according to Kyle, they showed him what not to do to have a successful career in the sport.
Aviwe Mgijima remembers the first day Kyle walked into the Western Province (then Cobras) changeroom.
“He was this thin youngster, straight out of school, looking a little scared of the older guys,” says Aviwe. “He might have irritated one or two older guys because he was so talkative and had an answer for everything.”
Aviwe and the youngster clicked instantly.
Kyle did not take long to win over anyone who might have had reservations about him or could have been irritated by him. Ginger, or Scholsey - thanks to his ginger hair and Manchester United ties - was also a hit at warm-up football games. The warm-up games remain an opportunity for Kyle to showcase his skills.
Anyway, Kyle does not have an answer to the question of what was going through his mind as he constructed his unbeaten 136-run innings at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch against New Zealand. Everything is a blur. Kyle has vague recollections of the day. They come to him like little snapshots of the day.
He remembers feeling happy as he walked off the field after the declaration. A part of him was still focused on the game. It was Day 4 of the Test and South Africa still had the job of bowling out New Zealand to secure a win. He had supper with a couple of teammates, but nothing out of the extraordinary happened. Then he attended to a few messages congratulating him on his maiden Test century.
“It was only on the flight home after I had so much time to think, that I realized, ‘Geez, I've actually done it! I've scored 100 at Test level!’ Kyle recalls.
As the team flew back home, Kyle took a moment to savour his achievement. He had come a long way. At one point, Kyle owned a Woodworm bat, the Glowworm Mega Junior. He had used it until it was in tatters, and even then he grudgingly let go of it.
Kyle basked in the memory of the achievement. All the hard work he had put in to reach this point, the effort and belief of the people that have supported him over the years, these were the results. He belonged at this level.
Eight matches is not a long time, but the impatient had already begun to question whether Kyle really belonged, whether he was good enough. The more patient group was resolute that he did. On February 28, 2022, Kyle Verreynne lived up to the hype and silenced the naysayers.
The timing of the century was just right.
Everything about his timing was wrong. He swung at the ball late 60% of the time. 30% of the time he was too early. With numbers like that, it did not take much effort for his brother to get him out. Kyle did get the timing right 10% of the time. But when he did, the balls somehow ended up in the swimming pool a lot of the time. Hitting the ball over the wall was a six and out. Getting it into the pool and the bedding were also dismissals.
But, Kyle was too small to hit the ball a long way. He couldn’t hit it over the wall or into the bedding. Hitting it into the pool was not so difficult. You needed a little more skill to avoid it, skills that Kyle didn’t have at the time. The result was that Kyle spent more time bowling, or more appropriately, throwing balls for his older brother.
That sums up Kyle Verreynne’s early years of backyard cricket. He was barely four at the time.
Kyle’s brother, Dylan, is six years older than him. Some of Kyle’s early cricket memories are of himself as a spectator, always on the side of the field watching Dylan play. When he was not trying to pay attention to what Dylan was doing on the field, Kyle tried to re-enact his brother’s skills with the bat, as long as he could find someone to throw balls for him on the side of the field.
Kyle always followed in Dylan’s footsteps. He became a Manchester United fan because Dylan was one. It was a non-negotiable allegiance.
There is a consensus at Wynberg Boys High that Kyle Verreynne could have fashioned a career as a hockey player, had he chosen that path. His former first-team coach, Eric Lefson, is convinced that Kyle was one of the best players in his group. ‘Definitely not average, he was a very good hockey player.’
Kyle started playing hockey because he watched Dylan playing and decided to give it a go. The same is true for cricket. Dylan has always been the one leading the way, and Kyle, like any younger sibling who idolises his older brother, copied everything that Dylan did.
“Six years is such a huge gap when you are kids,” says Kyle. “But, when I got to around nine or ten, things sort of evened out. I started to get a bit better and was able to challenge him, you know? It wasn't as easy for him to get me out.”
Kyle’s bowling got better. It became a little more accurate and ceased to be easy pickings for his brother, who suddenly stopped smashing him all over the place with ease. His batting also improved, partly because he was now stronger and able to handle the bat. The other part was because he developed his batting skills through sheer willpower to get better. He also wanted to bat for as long as his brother batted, which seemed like forever to Kyle.
When you are young, your perception of time is a little skewed. In Kyle’s mind, his brother batted for extremely long periods. Kyle also wanted that. He wanted to bat for the longest period. Sometimes he batted for so long that his brother got frustrated by bowling to Kyle for extended periods, so he heaved the ball over the wall to the neighbours’ the moment it was his turn to bat. That often ended the game.
“The game would end because we didn’t have a ball anymore,” says Kyle. “It happened whenever he was annoyed with me.”
Sachin Tendulkar scored 34 357 runs in his international career. Kyle Verreynne scored more than and when he reached 13 or 14. The bulk of those was scored in street cricket. Mainly a result of directing the ball toward the right targets.
There was a signpost close to their home. The Verreynne boys did not stray far from home for their street cricket contests. The boys wheeled the municipal bin a few meters from their garage. The garage doors then acted like the wicketkeeper and slip cordon of sorts.
Almost directly opposite, across the road, was a signpost post. Hitting it earned you 1000 runs. There was also an electrical box nearby. Because it was bigger than the signpost and, therefore, easier to hit, it earned you fewer runs. The electrical box was worth 500 runs. Then, if the ball hit the curb without a bounce, you earned 200 runs.
With improved, better timing, Kyle consistently hit these targets.
In 2012, Michael Lewis gave the commencement address at Princeton University. In his speech, the Moneyball writer told the students about the importance of luck in his career. He had met the right people at the right time, and they had opened the right doors and given him the right breaks in his career. His breakthrough was a series of fortunate events that built up into an extraordinary professional career.
Many people would rather attribute their success to what they did, the hard work they put in, and nothing else. They are loath to admit that when you have success you have also had luck. Not Michael Lewis. In the 13 minutes and 37-second-long speech, Lewis urges the students to accept the role of luck in their lives.
“You are among the lucky few,” he said. “Lucky in your parents, lucky in your country, lucky that a place like Princeton exists that can take in lucky people, introduce them to other lucky people and increase their chances of getting even luckier.”
To be lucky, you just need to be in the right place at the right time.
2018, Daniel Pink wrote a book on timing. Pink, assisted by two researchers, read more than seven hundred studies covering economics, anesthesiology, anthropology, endocrinology, chronobiology and social psychology in an attempt to understand the science of timing.
Kyle Verreynne has not read Daniel Pink’s impressive 200-page book, but he is a big believer in timing. No matter how brilliant you are, if your timing is wrong, things will not work out very well for you. Every wicketkeeper who matured during the Mark Boucher years knows this. No matter how good they were, they could not dislodge him. Dane Vilas recalls that he and other wicketkeepers in South Africa felt that they were competing for the SA A slot.
One of the wicketkeepers with the worst timing was Dane’s uncle, Rob Prout. Prout’s career failed to take off because Ray Jennings occupied the Transvaal slot for years, at a time when South African cricket had few opportunities. The former SA Schools wicketkeeper eventually retreated to club cricket. His timing was off, if he had come through in a different decade, five years later, he might have had a chance.
“Timing is a big thing. I think timing dictates how the world works,” says Kyle. “If you're in the right place at the right time, things fall into place.”
Kyle was in the right place at the right time for the Jacques Kallis Foundation Scholarship. As late as November 2010, Kyle was certain that he was going to Rondebosch High School. Everything was in place. He had gone to the open day, and the school had accepted him. He had the complete uniform in his wardrobe. Every day, for a month or so, he came in contact with the Rondebosch blazer as he dressed up for school.
That plan changed the day Eric Lefson visited Kyle’s mother at her workplace.
Lefson needed a student to fill the void left by Dayyaan Galiem. Dayyaan had been awarded the Jacques Kallis Foundation scholarship to Wynberg but had turned it down because he wanted to go to Rondebosch. Dayyaan had attended Rondebosch Junior School and he felt that the school that produced the Kirsten brothers and Jonathan Trott was the best fit for him.
“I wasn’t desperate, but it was November, and somewhere in the back of my mind there was a worry that the bursary might go waste if we didn’t find someone,” says Eric Lefson.
On the advice of trusted confidants, Lefson went to have a look at this young boy from Edgemead. The consensus was that the boy was special. They were right, in a way. When Lefson watched Kyle have an indoor net session at Western Province, he did not see a prodigy. He did not see another David Beddingham.
“David would blow you away,” says Lefson, who coached Beddingham in the Wynberg first team for three years. “You only had to watch him face three balls to see that he was next level.”
In six years, Lefson had two players who averaged over 50 runs, but they were so different.
Kyle didn’t blow you away, he was understated. His technique also needed a little work. But he had something that no coach can teach; Kyle had great hands. Even back then, Kyle could play the ball late and work it with ease. He had found the one. Lefson didn’t know it at the time, but he had found the one. He might have had an inkling after Kyle scored a few 100s at Under-14.
When Kyle eventually made the first team, a lot rested on his young shoulders. Kyle’s performance determined how well Wynberg played. When he did well, the team did well. When he failed, the team failed. The opposite of what was happening at Rondebosch at that time. Rondebosch had such a strong side that up to eight students from that stream went on to play professional cricket.
“If one player didn’t do well, another would stand up. That was Rondebosch,” says Lefson. “Kyle didn’t have that luxury, everyone was always looking at him for big performances.”
Lefson feels that such an environment might have helped Kyle because he is a player for the big occasion. In a way, Kyle relishes pressure moments. During the disastrous SA Under-19 World Cup that he was a part of, Kyle was the standout batter.
Anyway, when Lefson visited Kyle’s mother at work, she did not give him an answer on the spot. She needed to discuss it with Kyle first. It was his future. Kyle’s mother has been a constant supporter of her son. Most of Kyle’s coaches remember her as the mother who made almost all of her son’s matches but was never too loud. She did not interfere with the process, she was there to support her son, nothing more. She trusted those in charge of his development.
Kyle had applied to Rondebosch because he was looking for a school reputable in both academics and sports. Edgemead High, where most of his friends were going, was not high on the list. Wynberg was not a tough sell. His mother did not have to pitch it to him, Kyle was thrilled at the prospect. She had him at Wynberg. The next day, Kyle’s mother called Lefson to let him know they would accept the bursary.
A few days later, Kyle had to attend an interview with the school. A few months later Kyle was a boarder at a school about 20km from his home.
“I was the guy that just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” says Kyle. “When the timing is right, everything happens the way it's supposed to.”
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Kyle has a good eye and good hands. He is also athletic. A great combination that would have gone to waste if he had pursued bowling. As a youngster, Kyle was a decent bowler, he could inject some pace when needed. He opened both the batting and bowling. The bowling was probably a result of all the years he had apprenticed, bowling to his older brother. With enough practice, you get better.
One of his age-group coaches did not think it was a good idea for him to open both the bowling and the batting. It was not a sustainable way to play cricket. Also, some parents complained that they wanted their kids to also have important roles in the game and not be Kyle's supporting cast. So, he was forced to choose one. Kyle chose to bat. A wise decision, in retrospect.
“I started keeping because the kid behind the stumps wanted to bowl,” says Kyle. “I asked the coach if I could swap in. He didn’t mind.”
Kyle has not relinquished the gloves since then. When he opened both the bowling and the batting, Kyle did so because he wanted to be involved at every possible turn. That’s why youngsters do a little bit of everything. As he grew older, he realised that wicketkeeping allows him that. In a way, as a wicketkeeper, he is the centre of the action.
He figured things out as he went along. Kyle did not have a wicketkeeping coach to help him with technique and the finer things of the craft. He approached his wicketkeeping duties with one goal, to get to the ball and hold on to it.
Self-taught keepers come in two moulds, the flamboyant and the understated. Kyle is not flamboyant. He has always kept it simple, see the ball, catch the ball. He won't dive if he can comfortably catch the ball by taking a couple of sideways steps. There is no point.
“For a long time, I didn’t practise my keeping, I just focused on my batting,” says Kyle. “I simply rocked up and took up the gloves at the game. It was only at the Under-19 level that I did a bit more work in training. Even then, there was no keeping coach. I would simply do my keeping stuff when the other guys were working on their fielding.”
Kyle was a natural. But natural talent can only take you so far. That's where Ezra Poole comes in. Kyle and Poole started working together when Kyle was 21 and already playing for Western Province. Western Province and Cobras approached Poole for help.
“We had our first meeting at a local club cricket ground. I wanted to see where Kyle was as a keeper,” says Poole. “The framework was there. We just had to work on certain things to get him up to standard.”
One of those things was Kyle’s ability to stand up to bowlers. As far as Poole is concerned, that is the most difficult bit of keeping. The ball spins and reaches you faster. Meanwhile, clean catches need to be taken, and stumpings need execution. It’s easier to stand back.
Kyle and Poole hit it off almost immediately after meeting each other for the first time. They have shared experiences. Both are self-taught wicketkeepers. Whether coincidence or planned, putting the two together was a masterstroke on Faiek Davids’ part. Kyle and Poole understand each other deeply.
Ezra Poole watches all of Kyle’s games and messages him with some of the things that he picks up that Kyle needs to look at or work on. When the Proteas were in New Zealand, Poole barely slept. But, they do most of their work during the winter when they follow a keeping program to upskill Kyle.
Kyle and Poole have grown close in the four years they have worked together.
“We just clicked,” says Poole.
‘Always be yourself. If you are true to yourself when your career comes to an end, you won’t have any regrets,’ Poole constantly tells Kyle.
Kyle’s phone rang. Unknown caller. If the call had come during the daytime, a part of him would have half-expected to hear a salesperson on the other end of the line. But it was nighttime.
Kyle was in East London with the Cobras. They were playing a four-day match against the Warriors. The team was in a local Spur restaurant having dinner. Kyle was sitting in the corner, there was no way he could excuse himself from the table without causing a lot of movement. So, he took the call sitting there.
It was Linda Zondi, the Proteas convenor of selectors at the time. Kyle had never had a conversation with Zondi before then. Up until that point he had never had any reason a reason to save Zondi’s number.
Kyle did his best to mask the smile that threatened to envelop his face during the call. He had been called up to the ODI squad. After the call, Kyle did his best to act normal. The first people he wanted the news with were his family. That was to mark the beginning of his Proteas journey.
His ODI debut was almost perfect, he fell two runs short of a half-century. It was against Australia. His Test debut, on the other hand, was not that great. Kyle lasted only eight balls in his debut Test innings and scored only six runs from them. It could have been worse. On his semi-pro debut, Kyle barely troubled the scorers. He blocked a couple of deliveries before he made his way back to the dressing-room for one run.
He was still in Matric. He had been called up to the Western Province side to cover for Clyde Fortuin. Fortuin, the Western Province keeper, had been called up to the Cobras to cover for Dane Vilas, who had been called up to the Proteas to cover for Quinton De Kock. In that single innings, Kyle learned that this was a different level from age-group cricket.
“I was 17 and it felt like the step up was way too big for me,” says Kyle.
The winter after Kyle’s Under-19 World Cup campaign, Western Province sent him to North Devon Cricket Club. Western Province has always had a great relationship with the English club.
Kyle was a bright prospect and they felt that he needed the move to help speed up his growth. When he came back for a second go at it, things went so well that he played only a single season with Western Province before he went up to the Cobras.
A step up is never easy. The balls get faster as you go up the ladder.
To the naked eye, the difference in speed is a second. Out on the field, it feels much longer. The speed and accuracy of the bowlers put your technique on trial. Kyle has a good technique, but nothing close to players like Jimmy Cook or Ashwell Prince, his former mentor at Cobras. Prince and Kyle worked on his technique during their time together, not to alter it and make it more classical, but to improve it. Fortify it.
Your temperament is also put on trial. Kyle has always had a good temperament, according to Eric Lefson. From an early age, Kyle has always been the one less likely to hit the ball in frustration. This is one of the things that Lefson noticed when it came to Kyle Verreynne during his years at Wynberg. Kyle enjoyed teeing off as much as the average schoolboy, but he rarely let the urge to score fast and hit big sixes get in the way of a well-constructed innings. He rarely deviated from the plan.
But, the kind of temperament that gets you through age-group cricket will not take you through international cricket. Nothing quite prepares you for the interrogation you face in international cricket. Sometimes it is so intense it leaves you questioning whether you are equipped for this level.
“Ashy P helped me to develop the right mindset for international cricket. I remember him talking to me about mindset, the mindset that will help you to score big runs,” says Kyle.
In a 2018 paper, aptly titled Drive in Sports, researchers discussed the psychological factors that either increase or inhibit motivation in endurance sports. In many ways, cricket is an endurance sport.
Many batters fail to notch up big numbers because of milestone fatigue. When the primary target is a half-century, many batters relax after they reach 50 runs. They have hit their target and whatever comes afterwards is a bonus. It’s not that they actively decide on this, it happens on a subconscious level.
According to Schiphof-Godart and her colleagues, dopamine (which is responsible for motivating behaviour and increased drive toward a reward) increases athletes’ attention toward rewarding goals, and this includes milestones. Each time a batter reaches a milestone, they feel a sense of accomplishment. They have met a rewarding goal. And once that happens, the brain decreases the concentrations of dopamine it releases, which leaves them slightly mentally fatigued, less motivated and less focused.
Prince did not cite Schiphof-Godart’s article, but his teaching covered that topic.
“Ashy P introduced me to this mindset, that if your goal is going to be to get 50 runs, you will relax when you get to 50. Then you are out,” says Kyle. “But no one really cares about a 50, to be honest, everyone gets a 50. It is not that special.”
Kyle Verreynne has an unbeaten 136 in Test cricket, it has taken him eight matches to score big. He also has two double-centuries to his name so far in First-Class cricket. It is an understatement to say he enjoys scoring big runs.
“Every player is different. Some gravitate towards the technical aspects of the game, while others seek a deeper understanding from all angles,” says Prince. “Kyle is one of the ones that gravitate towards a deeper understanding of sports. He always wanted to develop his soft skills in a way that compliments his talents.”
Kyle doesn’t just want to understand the game, he seeks to understand himself better. He feels that is the key to scoring big runs, and that is all he wants to do, to score big runs at the international level.
When your mindset is right, your timing is off the charts.
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