NEW DELHI: Sybrand Engelbrecht is at peace with where he is in life and cricket.‘Gratitude’, ‘being fortunate’, and ‘wanting to add value’ are the phrases that he keeps coming back to when he talks about his journey with cricket which began in the early 2000s, and the possibility of being a part of the 2023 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup.
For someone who returned home to South Africa from the 2008 U19 World Cup in Malaysia after making waves for his fielding in the event — including the catches of Virat Kohli and Tanmay Srivastava in the final against India — never his wildest imagination did he think or believe that he would take part in an ODI World Cup 15 years later, leave alone doing it for the Netherlands.
On Monday, the unexpected dream came true as Engelbrecht, at 35, made his ODI debut for the Netherlands against New Zealand in Hyderabad. While disappointed about the result — New Zealand won by 99 runs — Engelbrecht admitted that it is a dream come true for him personally.
“I think any young kid that plays cricket wants to play international cricket. And to do that at a World Cup is really special. So it is a moment that I'll look back on fondly. But I think the important thing for me and for us as a team is to make sure that we learn and be better and win some games,” he told reporters after the match.
Engelbrecht’s journey with cricket has two chapters. The first one goes back to 2001 when as a young kid playing for Gauteng Under-13s transpired over 15 years where Engelbrecht was a U19 WC finalist, toiled hard for years in the domestic circuit, was a part of the Cape Cobras team that travelled to India for the 2014 Champions League T20. By the time the 2016-17 season came along, he felt the need to take a call on where he was in his cricket career. And he decided to walk away from a sport that he had loved for almost two decades.
“It was not an easy decision,” Engelbrecht told this daily in the lead-up to the World Cup.“Every cricketer will tell you that it's not easy to walk away from the game. It really isn't. But I had peace in my heart about the decision when I walked off the field in 2016. I was very happy because I gave it everything, tried my best, and left no stone unturned. Sometimes it works out and you have a super successful career and other times you don't. That's just the way life works. I'm thankful for every single opportunity that I got back in South Africa,” he said.
Engelbrecht did not want to wait until 35 to figure out what he wanted to do next in life. He joined Fairtree as an investment specialist in 2017 and did his Master's at Stellenbosch Business School a year later while continuing to work with the investment management group.
The second chapter began in 2020 when the opportunity came along to move to the Netherlands. The adventurous family that they are, Engelbrecht and his wife took the plunge and moved to Europe with their son who was only a few months old. For them, cricket became a natural integrating tool to connect with the community and make new friends.
In 2021, he started playing for Voorburg Cricket Club. Earlier this year, when he became eligible to represent the Netherlands, head coach Ryan Cook, who is also from South Africa and knew him from earlier, reached out, and had a conversation with Engelbrecht. After that, it was a no-brainer for the 35-year-old middle-order batter, who can bowl off-spin, to join the team and be a part of the squad.
He is the first to admit that he is not a professional cricketer. What has helped him to work and chase his dreams is the support from Netherlands team management and Fairtree. Even as Engelbrecht is thankful for the support Fairtree has provided him — flexible work hours, fluctuating time — he continues to juggle work, young family, cricket, checking emails whenever possible, and catching up with things at work through the World Cup.
“I am truly blessed and grateful for working for an organization like Fairtree. They are fully supportive of me trying to live this unbelievable dream. They have created an environment around me, the staff, the people that I work closely with have really said, ‘You know what, go and give it everything, train as hard as you can and we'll see you again when you come back from the World Cup’. But what I've obviously tried to do is just kind of work late in the evenings to make sure that I still check in. I will continue doing that throughout the World Cup,” he says.
For him, being a part of the Netherlands team and part of the World Cup is a “privilege”. He credits Coach Cook and the support staff for creating a healthy environment for the players to thrive and give everything to the team. On the field, it will be a reunion of sorts when he goes up against quite a few from the class of 2008 U19 WC — he did with Trent Boult already. Kohli, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Stoinis, Steve Smith, Reeza Hendricks - there are quite a few to come as well.
“I doubt whether any of those guys will remember who I am. I think it's just a massive privilege to play against all of these guys. Every team that we're playing against has world-class players, guys that are truly the best in their fields. Virat is absolutely world-class, guys like Kane Williamson, I am really looking forward to experiencing that live.” Ask him if he would want to remind Kohli of his catch to get rid of the Indian in the final, and he laughs, “Maybe I'll have a quick chat with him after the game that we play against them."
Above all, Engelbrecht credits his wife for being the support system and allowing him to do all that he does. She, along with their young son, would be watching him pursue his unbelievable dream. He wants to do well for them and the Netherlands, and if his son recognises him on TV, it would be something to cherish as well. "He is still young. Maybe, we'll see," he says with a smile.
"If he does and my wife is able to capture it that would be cute to see. I think any father would like to be a good representation of a good man. Hopefully, I instill the right values in my son and that's not necessarily just about cricket. That's the way you do anything, the way you do everything. Whether I'm out in India playing against the best in the world or whether I'm here at work or whether I'm at home. If I conduct myself in a strong, honest, and open manner, hopefully, you can learn from that," he signed off with pride.
