“ Shadley looked back at me one training session and asked ‘are you serious?’ He was a batsman at school, could hit a really long ball, but we needed him to bowl the coming Saturday.” That is how the bowling career of Shadley van Schalkwyk, the co-leading RamSlam T20 Challenge wicket-taker from the Knights, began, according to Cape Cobras opening batsman Richard Levi.
Levi, who ironically is the highest run-scorer in this season’s RamSlam T20 Challenge, was Van Schalkwyk and fellow Knights medium-pacer Malusi Siboto’s school captain during their hugely successful time together in the Wynberg Boys’ First XI.
“Yeah, we all go a long way back, but Shads’ skill-set has definitely changed over the course of his career. He was primarily a batsman during his time at Wynberg, but has developed his bowling nicely over the last couple of seasons. ‘Lolly’ (Siboto) has always been able to hit a good line and length and his disciplines are very good, especially in the shorter forms of the game,” Levi told the Cape Times.
The former schoolmates will have to put their long-standing friendships aside on Friday night at Newlands though when the Cobras host the Knights in the RamSlam T20 Challenge final. Considering the form Levi and Van Schalkwyk are in, it is sure to make for a fascinating duel with the winner likely to hold the key to their team’s chances of lifting the coveted trophy.
Levi has the edge at the moment, having been the victor in the first-round bout, when the powerhouse opener struck a match-winning 64 in Bloemfontein. It certainly seems that Levi is enjoying his cricket again after a few seasons of uncertainty about his gameplans. Although his 391 runs have still come at the high tempo strike-rate of 143.22, he seems to have a more measured approach towards his batting.
“I used to believe my way of playing was the only way to play. My way or the highway, something like that. But having spent a couple of seasons in England during the winter playing county cricket, I have learnt that I can’t just go out there and play one way.
“The ball swings a bit more in England, so you have to be a bit more circumspect upfront.
“Don’t get me wrong, I still want to hit the ball out of the park and go at a 160 strike-rate, but now I believe my game is bit tighter to give me a better chance of cashing in later on,” Levi explained.
There are few cricketers in South Africa, besides the block-buster appeal of the West Indies superstars currently here, that have the “bums-on-seats” X-factor that Levi possesses. Fans literally come to Newlands just to watch Levi muscle the ball to the boundary in the first six powerplay over and then leave after his dismissal, much like they did during Herschelle Gibbs’s heyday, and the faithful are certainly expecting another fireworks extravaganza from South Africa’s national T20 record holder.
The Knights will though look to play the role of party-poopers on Friday evening, just like the Dolphins did last season, and are likely to counter Levi’s threat with the early introduction of their off-spinning captain Werner Coetzee.
“I was joking with Putters (Andrew Puttick) the other day that we’re facing more spin in the powerplay overs than in the rest of the game. It is almost as if the opposition see me coming out and then throw the ball to a spinner (laughs). I think it was a problem of mine in the past, but I have played enough cricket now to be confident in my gameplans.
“Playing a final at Newlands … man that is a special feeling. We let the fans down last season and we want to set that right. We definitely owe the faithful, as you travel around the county and you play in empty stadiums, compared to how we always get good crowds coming to watch us,” Levi added. - Cape Times