It’s no secret that Wiaan Mulder has improved his all-round game markedly since he first made his debut for the Proteas seven years ago as a teenager.
In fact, Mulder was one of the stars of the first Test against Bangladesh in Mirpur earlier this week. He returned match figures of 4/62. That included a quite brilliant 3/22 from just eight overs in the Bangladesh first innings as they were bundled out for 106.
That set the tone for the Proteas in their victory, and Mulder also contributed strongly with the bat as he notched up his maiden Test half century as South Africa built a 202-run lead in the first innings.
Since he first made his debut for South Africa in 2017, Mulder has gone on to play 15 Tests, 20 One-Day Internationals and 11 T20 Internationals.
Better with the ball
However, with batting averages of less than 20 in all three formats Mulder has yet to produce the kind of runs that would cement his place in the team for just his batting. He has fared better with the ball, especially in Test cricket with an impressive average of 23.
Ahead of the second Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram on Tuesday, Mulder has revealed the work he put in which has yielded results.
“I think I had to put in the basics. I had to work on a lot of mental stuff I found when I started international cricket,” said Mulder on Sunday.
“I was really young and naive, and didn't really understand quite what I was getting myself into. I couldn't really deal with the pressures. It was a couple of technical things that I had to change. Mark Boucher was a big part in my development in terms of understanding my technique.”
Time away from international cricket also allowed Mulder to mature as a cricketer, he explained.
“I had to go back to domestic cricket and cricket in England to try and get better. To try and understand a bit better. The last two seasons with Russell Domingo as the head coach at the Lions also clarified a lot of my doubts, and a lot of the things that I felt that I had to iron out, out of my game.
“He kind of guided me on that process. Hashim Amla and Allan Donald helped me really well to find my blueprint in a way.
“I mean, I'm 26 I'm still learning a lot about my game. So to say I understand it fully will be a blatant lie.”