Bosch has new appreciation of what cricket means before World Cup

No, Anneke Bosch isn’t ready yet to talk about the illness that kept her in bed and going no further than the couch for nine weeks, and yes, she is grateful for the patience and support of Proteas coach Mandla Mashimbyi and that she’s going to a World Cup. 

Bosch is reluctant to delve into detail about the illness. “I wasn’t hospitalised, I had to do three months of complete rest, with no physical activities, it was a long time,” she said.

She has to keep monitoring her health, but doesn't believe the ailment is a long-term issue. 

Bosch missed the Proteas’ tours to Sri Lanka and the West Indies this year and the last time she played a serious match was in March, for her province, the Northerns Titans. 

“I definitely missed it a lot,” said the 32-year-old. “Forced time away like that, where you want to play, but can’t, it makes you appreciate it when you are part of it again.”

“It’s not nice sitting on your couch watching the girls on TV. You want to be there as well, be part of it, contribute, but [being away] gives you a new appreciation, a new energy, a new fight to do well for the team and appreciate every moment you have with them. You never want to take it for granted, you want to enjoy the game as much as possible. It is a demanding sport, but it is a huge privilege to be part of it.” 

Bosch is friendly, but quietly spoken. Until her match-winning innings in the T20 World Cup semifinal in Dubai last year, she was a background presence in the Proteas.

Laura Wolvaardt is an introvert who had to learn how to deal with the spotlight because of her consistent brilliance and then the captaincy. Marizanne Kapp is one of the great modern cricketers, Chloe Tryon is ebullient and enjoys the spotlight, Sinalo Jaftha is the same and is happy to share personal trauma and triumph. Bosch is not like that and her career before that defining innings that delivered a first World Cup win for the Proteas against the mighty Australia was one of quiet inconsistency. 

But that 74* was life-changing. It got nearly a million views on the ICC’s Facebook page, earning her global acclaim and headlines that are usually the preserve of Wolvaardt or Kapp. She was no longer Anneke Bosch, now she was “Lady AB”.

“I haven’t watched it for a while. That was a great innings, it was good to contribute like that, but you start every game on zero and so you need to start from nothing and do well again,” said Bosch. 

Which is what Bosch has been trying to do for the past month. It was a process that began with learning to trust herself again, which she admitted was difficult. “It was a long process, it was physically, mentally and emotionally draining.”

The support of teammates and the Proteas coaching staff was crucial. “You have to go back into the mindset you had before all that happened and then trust in your ability that you will be OK.” 

While she was out, Mashimbyi, who’d taken over as head coach in December, was getting to know the players, the established ones and the new crop emerging from an U-19 programme gradually bearing fruit. 

“It was in the back of my mind, it's not the best timing to go through something like that with a new coach in place. I carried on hoping everything would work out, but I’m thankful for the trust Mandla has put in me despite not seeing me much or with me not playing a lot of games this year.”

She approached the pre-World Cup training camp in Durban with trepidation. “From complete rest for three months, then a return to training, then a return-to-play programme, there is that thought in the back of your head that your skills might be behind or not the level they are supposed to be.”

So, while the World Cup was at the forefront for the players at the Durban camp, for Bosch it also reignited the passion she has for the Proteas, providing a perspective that allowed her to approach training with renewed energy and focus. For someone who admits she used to complain about the game a lot, it was a refreshing change. 

Finding the sort of magic touch that knocked out the Australians a year ago is one personal goal, but she’s in no rush. The World Cup is a long tournament, with a demanding schedule that packs seven round-robin matches into three weeks and then the semifinals. Before that the Proteas started a three-match series in Pakistan on Tuesday to get acclimatised to subcontinent conditions. 

“It’s a long time away from home, it is a long time to keep performing, but we are well prepared. Being in the finals at previous events gives you an edge going into tournaments such as this, along with confidence. Knowing that when you get to a knockout game it’s not new, so the team know how to handle it now.”