‘Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be’: Proteas hero Mulder

Wiaan Mulder provided a snippet about himself that partly explained why he chose not to put himself atop one of Test cricket’s most notable lists. 

“The little guy on the shoulder speaks a lot to be honest,” he told Shaun Pollock in an interview at the end of the second day of a second Test against Zimbabwe the Proteas team he is captaining is dominating. 

Mulder’s own questioning of whether he’s good enough has long hampered him. From school days when he was compared to Jacques Kallis, to when he made his first-class debut, while still coming to practice for the Lions wearing his school uniform, to making it into the Proteas team — Mulder has never felt he was worthy.

“When I started playing for South Africa I was nowhere near good enough,” he said on Monday.

So while thousands on social media were questioning why he didn’t attempt to match or surpass Brian Lara’s world record Test innings of 400, or why he was showing so much humility and his choice illustrated a ‘soft mentality’, Mulder has reached a point in his career where it doesn’t really matter.

The stand-in captain declared at lunch on day two with South Africa on 626/5 having scored 367 not out, the fifth-highest individual Test score in history, placing Mulder among the greats. That Zimbabwe capitulated to 170 then were 50/1 at the close reinforced how much time there is for South Africa to march to the inevitable win, leaving many astounded Mulder did not give himself the chance to go for Lara's record.

“You never know what’s my fate, or what is destined for me, but I think Brian Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be,” he said.

He did admit to feeling a little sad when he went past Hashim Amla’s South African record of 311, set against England at The Oval in 2012.

“I’ve worked with him a little bit for the last couple of years [at the Lions where Amla is the batting coach]. He’s a Hall of Famer, it’s truly special to go past his record, but I always feel like a lot of the legends deserve certain accolades, so someone like Hash deserves that record, but maybe it was my destiny.”

Mulder, is playing in his 21st Test and is at a stage in his career where he feels comfortable with himself as a cricketer. He described on Monday how even when he was dismissed in the first innings of the first Test, he was questioning his worth in the national team.

“When I was run out for 17, I was telling Bedingham and Verreynne that I should just hang up my boots. It was really, really difficult to keep failing and no matter how hard you work you feel like you don’t get the positives.”

He followed that disappointment by scoring 147 in the second innings and then Monday’s stupendous showing. “But that sums up cricket. You go through phases, where you feel you are doing the right things in the nets, that you’re bowling well, you’re batting well but you just don’t get the results or the rewards for it.

“It’s just nice, and it sends a positive message to the other guys who are trying to find form and are a bit down on themselves that if they keep doing the right things, at some stage they will reap the rewards.

“As a team there are a lot of guys who might feel they are under pressure, but if you do the right things for the team first, always, and look after your game, then you can let the outcome go and just play.”

Further explaining the decision not to go after Lara’s record he said the result for the team mattered more than an individual landmark. “We’ve won nine Tests in a row and that is the focus of this team. The focus is not on any individual’s career highlights.

“Four hundred is amazing. Test runs don’t come easy and there are a lot of Test batters that will want to get as many runs as they can when they feel they are playing well. 

“Legends of the game deserve certain accolades. Lara is one of the best to ever play the game. Him having the record is very important, he inspired so many to play the game and it is important that it stays his record and the main thing is we win the Test match.”

South Africa head into day three needing nine more wickets to claim a series win that in the long term is unlikely to be remembered. But for Mulder, playing as captain for the first time, for Lesego Senokwane and Prenelan Subrayen playing in their first Test and a young group looking to make their mark on the international stage, a Test win is something they can all celebrate.