‘Baby Kallis’ is no more — Proteas’ Wiaan Mulder becomes his own man

From the moment someone — no-one really knows who — put the moniker “Baby Kallis” around his neck, Wiaan Mulder was in trouble. 

Mulder, even before he’d made his professional debut for the Lions, still as a matric pupil, was burdened with the “Baby Kallis” thing. Months later came a national call-up, courtesy of Otis Gibson, who believed he had the cricket world’s “next big thing” on his hands. More “Baby Kallis” stuff followed.

Mulder is now 26, the baby fat long since disappeared from his cheeks, replaced with stubble illustrating the kind of wear that comes with being a year-round professional and finally, it seems, the moniker “Baby Kallis” is no longer being hung around his neck. He can just be Wiaan Mulder.

If it feels like he’s been around forever that’s because Mulder has been part of the domestic cricket conversation since breaking heaps of records as a schoolboy at St Stithians. 

He captained the South Africa under-19 team at a junior World Cup, but the endless stream of record performances as a teen might make some feel Mulder has not fulfilled his potential as a pro. 

In 12 Tests he’s performed better with ball than bat, while in 15 ODIs and five T20 Internationals, he’s done nothing of note. 

Even so he can count himself somewhat unlucky to have missed out on selection for the Proteas T20 World Cup squad. He has been included in the squad that will face the West Indies in three T20 Internationals before the tournament, which may be the start of a new chapter for him at international level.

Mulder knows he’s not delivered in the manner he and certainly others have expected in a Proteas shirt.

“The biggest thing for me at international level is the mental side of it,” Mulder said after helping the Lions win the domestic CSA T20 Challenge. 

“It’s the whole environment, the way I feel, the pressure I put on myself, because I feel like every game that I play (for SA) is my last game and I don’t really perform well under that pressure. I need to give myself the freedom and mental clarity because I am a massive over-thinker, as soon as I get that I am bloody useless, to be honest.”

Despite not being overwhelmingly dominant domestically, Mulder still found various selectors and coaches calling him up for the national team. But he’s never been able to establish himself or been given a run of matches to build confidence and find form.

“But not everybody has that opportunity. Sometimes you hope the stars can align and you play better. It is important to buy yourself some time. The only way to keep a permanent spot — once there is a change from guys like Miller and Klaasy moving on three years from now, maybe that will be my time.” 

The transition will come when I can deal with the mental stuff better. It is not a skill thing.

—  Wiaan Mulder

Meanwhile, where opportunities do present themselves to play on a consistent basis, be that at Leicestershire, who he helped win the One-Day Cup last year, the Durban Supergiants, who made it to the SA20 final, or the Lions in the T20 Challenge, Mulder has to make those count. 

The T20 Challenge final saw him produce a fine all-around display. He went for 29 in three overs with the ball, an OK return given when he was tasked with bowling, but more impressively blasted 55 not out off 26 balls, ensuring the Lions didn’t succumb to pressure at a tricky period in the run chase. 

“In the past I have done a relatively good job with the ball for South Africa, I haven’t batted as well as I would have liked. The transition will come when I can deal with the mental stuff better. It is not a skill thing.”

Part of his improvement this season has been sponging information from as many sources as possible. At the Supergiants it was the coach Lance Klusener and teammates like Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran.

“Lance told me I’d be playing different roles, depending on where the team needs me to fill in. I should be as versatile as I can be and try to fill as many gaps as I can when I get the chance.”

Mulder scored 297 runs including three half-centuries with a strike rate of 157, batting everywhere from No. 3 to 7 in the order. 

At the Lions his bowling was the more impressive part of his game in the T20 Challenge, the result of extensive work with the province’s bowling coach, Allan Donald. 

“Allan’s been helping me to focus on getting more energy through the ball and off the pitch, to use my short ball. I’ve had to upskill my bowling a lot because I don’t have that 150km/h that a lot of the front-line bowlers who are successful in T20 cricket have.”

Mulder admitted during the SA20 that he’d been “crucified many times” in his career. That this year has seen a resurrection, perhaps only time will tell, but the steps he has taken, have definitely been impressive.