GEBERHA: “You just say one mean word to me and I’ll start crying,” laughs Marizanne Kapp. This is someone who has played five ODI and six T20 World Cups (2023 is her seventh) and has 3719 runs and 217 international wickets next to her name.
On the field, Marizanne is one of the fiercest competitors in the world. When the all-rounder runs into the bowl with a mean look on her face, you would not want to be on the other side of the 22 yards. If your team is half the side down chasing a tricky total, she is the one you would want in the middle with the bat.
Yet, here she was, saying that she would be in tears at the drop of one mean word. That pretty much sums up Kapp as a person. A fearless fighter and a passionate athlete on the field and a shy, soft-spoken, meticulous individual off it. She is someone who bats for long hours at the nets before going into a game or stays awake to visualise her bowling, in complete contrast to her wife and South Africa’s regular captain, Dane van Niekerk.
“I'm someone that I have to bat 3000 balls or bowl 3000 balls and then I have confidence, where Dane literally will walk into the nets, hit five balls out of the middle and she is done. So, we are literally complete opposites in every sense of the word,” said Marizanne.
Having made her South Africa debut way back in 2009, the all-rounder has come a long way to become one of the game's stalwarts of the game. And in 2022, after dominating the 50-over format, she followed it up with a stellar show in the WBBL; 229 runs at a strike rate of 143.12. It has helped her grow in confidence and trust her ability a lot more than she used to in the past.
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“I have tried to stay positive even if it's not going well. I won’t go into the nets and bat 2000 balls because I've known that I've been in good form. So, to go and bat 2000 balls is not gonna help me in my game tomorrow, but if I'm strong mentally that will help me. And I think that's a big, big thing that comes from someone like Dane because she's got a very strong head and strong mind. I think I've kind of moved towards how she's been doing things and away from how I've been doing things, because like I mentioned, if I bat one bad ball, I would be upset and then I have to bat 1000 more whereas this year I literally tried to go the other way… It's very difficult for me to not go back to my old ways, but for now, it's working,” laughs Marizanne
While 2022 was one of her best years on the field in a 13-year-long career, off it, she was struggling. Earlier in the year, Van Niekerk had slipped near the pool at their home, fracturing her ankle. As a result, she missed the ODI World Cup. Watching her partner miss the dream of leading her country at a World Cup was a big challenge for her.
In July, her brother-in-law met with an accident. Her nephews fell unwell. It was hard to such an extent that she left the England tour midway to be with her family and did not take part in the Commonwealth Games. Add to that, she had gotten Covid four times in the year. As someone who is private, it was her faith and constant support of the team doctor Tshegofatso Gaetsewe that got her through the tough times.
“To be honest, it was just a lot of praying. I know the management wanted me to have a chat and speak to people because they knew I was struggling. but again, I feel like that person for me was our team doctor (Tshegofatso) because when I wasn't doing well or things weren't going well, she was always there. I think what helped me compared to other people that might have struggled is that I had that person on tour with me. So for me, she was able to help me. She's kind of like a mother figure to me.”
“I think if she (Tshegofatso) wasn't there, if it wasn't for her, I would have probably called it quits this year because that's how mentally drained I was," she tells this daily. "I really struggled. I think this past year, even though I was achieving a lot of success on the field, when I left the field, I cried more than I've probably cried in the last 10 years of my life. It was literally through praying and having our team doctor there assisting me that I managed to still play some decent cricket.”
For her, cricket was a distraction of sorts from what was happening off the field. The moment she swapped her everyday attire for the jersey, it was a different story. “When I was playing, and, obviously, when you do well, I love that and it was so good for me personally. But then as soon as I walk off the field, it's like, ‘I hate it, I want to stop playing cricket, I want to retire. I don't want to be here anymore.’ So it's been tough. I think, if I didn't have what I had on the field (in terms of performances), it would have probably been different.”
As South Africa are set to take on Australia in a must-win game at Gqeberha, Kapp is getting ready to play her first international game at her hometown but she will not have her partner by her side to walk onto the field. Van Niekerk was not picked as she could not meet the 9.30 minute 2km run criteria by 18 seconds.
Despite being heartbroken, the all-rounder was breathing fire with the ball in the game against New Zealand in Paarl last week. Saturday is expected to be no different. “I'm extremely excited. I get tears in my eyes every time I think about it. It's going to be very special, not only for me but for our whole team. For me, it's going to be that cherry on top when I get to play at home. So, it's gonna be a very exciting day and I can't wait.”
South Africa, across genders, are yet to win an ICC World Cup. Now, the women's team has a chance to do that and make history. But for that to happen, they will need the might of Kapp on the field over the next couple of weeks.