Get ready, No. 10, you’ll be batting in the top six. It’s a rare opportunity in cricket as even those assigned with the nightwatch role are unlikely to bat higher than the tenth position.
However, this story goes beyond cricket and delves into rugby union, where flyhalves, the players wearing the No. 10 jersey, seem to have a knack for being excellent batters in cricket.
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This trend is particularly prominent among South African male players.
From Ali Bacher and Peter Kirsten to Daryll Cullinan, Herschelle Gibbs, AB de Villiers, Stiaan van Zyl, Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Sarel Erwee, and Tony de Zorzi, all were flyhalves in school and beyond. And that’s just a few names on the list.
“Most of the players you’ve mentioned are flamboyant, freewheeling batters, and flyhalves are playmakers,” Petersen explained to Cricbuzz, linking the dots between the two roles.
“Rugby was part of my family, in my blood. Playing flyhalf came naturally.”
Some of the notable rugby flyhalves who also excelled in cricket included Kirsten, Cullinan, and Gibbs.
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Although they were exceptional rugby players and could have gone far in that game, circumstances led them to cricket.
Kirsten’s career was shortened by an injury, while Cullinan had to choose between cricket and rugby as their fixtures clashed.
Meanwhile, Gibbs had to choose between the two sports due to the rise of professionalism.
Others such as De Villiers, Van Zyl, Markram, Erwee, and De Zorzi did not face the same dilemma.
The question of them playing cricket and rugby at a high level after high school never arose.
Not all specialist batters were flyhalves, as Kepler Wessels and Graeme Smith were fullbacks, and Gary Kirsten and Temba Bavuma were scrumhalves.
Faf du Plessis was a flyhalf in primary school but a center in high school.
On the other hand, not all flyhalves became specialist batters as Shaun Pollock played flyhalf and Anrich Nortje fullback and flyhalf.
Allrounders were present in the backline shop with Eddie Barlow as a center, and Adrian Kuiper and Jacques Kallis as fullbacks.
Not all wicketkeeper-batters played rugby seriously, as exemplified by Kyle Verreynne and Ryan Rickelton.
Some schoolboy rugby players didn’t become renowned cricketers, as some injuries and circumstances put them off rugby.
For instance, Schalk Burger’s injuries made him accept a contract from Boland’s cricket academy as a top-order batter.
Only to return to rugby and play 86 matches for the Springboks as a loose forward.
The crossover between batters and flyhalves was easier to explain before the professional era, where cricket and rugby schedules weren’t as crowded as now.
Flyhalves are often the best all-round athletes in a rugby team, and their skills transfer well in batting, where there is a clarity of thought and action.
According to Paddy Upton, a sports scientist and mental and executive coach, the skills that would support success in both positions are having a knack for broad, external focus, the ability to immediately process all the information internally, make sense of it, and execute with precision.
This ability is particularly crucial as the person who effectively has the limelight on them at that moment.
Other cricket-playing countries such as New Zealand also had examples of rugby and cricket crossover.
However, unlike South Africa, rugby did not enjoy the same profile in New Zealand.
Rwanda Women vs Botswana Women, 2nd Match (T20) ▾
Rwanda Women vs Botswana Women, 2nd Match (T20)
10 June 2023
Gahanga International Cricket Stadium, Kigali City
Rwanda Women | ||
Botswana Women Inning 0/0 (0) Rwanda Women Inning 0/0 (0) |
Match not started
Botswana vs Rwanda, 3rd Match (T20) ▾
Botswana vs Rwanda, 3rd Match (T20)
10 June 2023
Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi
Rwanda | ||
Botswana Inning 1 115/14 (14) Rwanda Inning 0/0 (0) |
Botswana opt to bat
Botswana vs Uganda, 2nd Match (T20) ▾
Botswana vs Uganda, 2nd Match (T20)
09 June 2023
Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi
Uganda | ||
Botswana Inning 1 114/19.5 (19.5) Uganda Inning 1 115/13 (13) |
Uganda won by 6 wkts
Kenya vs Rwanda, 1st Match (T20) ▾
Kenya vs Rwanda, 1st Match (T20)
09 June 2023
Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi
Rwanda | ||
Rwanda Inning 1 137/20 (20) Kenya Inning 1 139/18.3 (18.3) |
Kenya won by 3 wkts
Sussex vs Surrey, South Group (T20) ▾
Sussex vs Surrey, South Group (T20)
09 June 2023
County Ground, Hove
Sussex | ||
Surrey Inning 1 258/20 (20) Sussex Inning 1 134/14.5 (14.5) |
Surrey won by 124 runs
Yorkshire vs Worcestershire, North Group (T20) ▾
Yorkshire vs Worcestershire, North Group (T20)
09 June 2023
Headingley, Leeds
Yorkshire | ||
Yorkshire Inning 1 224/20 (20) Worcestershire Inning 1 198/20 (20) |
Yorkshire won by 26 runs
Derbyshire vs Nottinghamshire, North Group (T20) ▾
Derbyshire vs Nottinghamshire, North Group (T20)
09 June 2023
County Ground, Derby
Nottinghamshire | ||
Derbyshire Inning 1 142/20 (20) Nottinghamshire Inning 1 143/18.4 (18.4) |
Nottinghamshire won by 3 wkts
Glamorgan vs Essex, South Group (T20) ▾
Glamorgan vs Essex, South Group (T20)
09 June 2023
Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Glamorgan | ||
Essex Inning 1 226/20 (20) Glamorgan Inning 1 175/18.3 (18.3) |
Essex won by 51 runs
Gloucestershire vs Somerset, South Group (T20) ▾
Gloucestershire vs Somerset, South Group (T20)
09 June 2023
County Ground, Bristol
Somerset | ||
Somerset Inning 1 231/20 (20) Gloucestershire Inning 1 151/19 (19) |
Somerset won by 80 runs
Warwickshire vs Northamptonshire, North Group (T20) ▾
Warwickshire vs Northamptonshire, North Group (T20)
09 June 2023
Edgbaston, Birmingham
Warwickshire | ||
Warwickshire Inning 1 137/18.5 (18.5) Northamptonshire Inning 1 107/20 (20) |
Warwickshire won by 30 runs
Leicestershire vs Durham, North Group (T20) ▾
Leicestershire vs Durham, North Group (T20)
09 June 2023
Grace Road, Leicester
Leicestershire | ||
Durham Inning 1 172/20 (20) Leicestershire Inning 1 174/17.4 (17.4) |
Leicestershire won by 6 wkts
Kent vs Hampshire, South Group (T20) ▾
Kent vs Hampshire, South Group (T20)
09 June 2023
St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury
Kent | ||
Hampshire Inning 1 177/20 (20) Kent Inning 1 180/19.3 (19.3) |
Kent won by 6 wkts
Namibia vs Karnataka, 4th Match (ODI) ▾
Namibia vs Karnataka, 4th Match (ODI)
09 June 2023
Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek
Namibia | ||
Namibia Inning 1 253/50 (50) Karnataka Inning 1 256/47.1 (47.1) |
Karnataka won by 5 wkts
United Arab Emirates vs West Indies, 3rd ODI (ODI) ▾
United Arab Emirates vs West Indies, 3rd ODI (ODI)
09 June 2023
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
West Indies | ||
United Arab Emirates Inning 1 184/36.1 (36.1) West Indies Inning 1 185/35.1 (35.1) |
West Indies won by 4 wkts
Ireland vs Bangladesh, 1st ODI (ODI) ▾
Ireland vs Bangladesh, 1st ODI (ODI)
09 May 2023
County Ground, Chelmsford
Ireland | ||
Bangladesh Inning 1 246/50 (50) Ireland Inning 1 65/16.3 (16.3) |
No result (due to rain)
Australia vs India, Final (TEST) ▾
Australia vs India, Final (TEST)
07 June 2023
Kennington Oval, London
India | ||
Australia Inning 1 469/121.3 (121.3) India Inning 1 296/69.4 (69.4) |
Day 3: Stumps - Australia lead by 296 runs
One example is Tony Harris, a Kimberley-born schoolboy prodigy, who played five Tests as a flyhalf for the Springboks in 1937 and 1938.
He also featured in the first of his three cricket Tests, where he batted at No. 6 in all five of his innings in June 1947.
Harris was one of ten debutants at Trent Bridge, where he scored 60 and shared a stand of 55 with Dudley Nourse.
At 1.68 metres tall, Harris would probably be considered too slight for the game of behemoths that rugby has become.
Nevertheless, he was a fighter pilot during World War II, where he spent seven days in the ocean in a dinghy encircled by sharks until he was taken prisoner for the remaining months of the war.
Not all flyhalves come with tales of glory attached.
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Some like Bacher, who captained South Africa’s Test cricket team and became one of the most influential administrators in the world, made a dangerous mistake when he refused to wear the colors blazer bestowed on the KES first XV because he deemed the rugby team average.
Bacher’s choice of dress made Rustenburg think.