Mulder Ends 367 Declaration Embargo

Proteas Win fifth successive Bilateral ODI Series vs Australia

South Africa’s fifth consecutive ODI series win (and ninth out of 15 overall) and Lungi Ngidi’s 5-42, Matthew Breetzke’s 88 and Tristan Stubbs’ 74 at the Great Barrier Reef Arena was all very comprehensive.

Darwin and Cairns were a joy to experience but Mackay’s ‘small town’ vibe – and beaches where swimming doesn’t mean being eaten – might be the best of the trio on the Top End tour.

Wiaan Mulder ended a six-week hiatus on talking about ‘his’ decision to declare at lunch on the second day of the Test match against Zimbabwe on 367* two months earlier during a pre-match interview with ABC radio:

“I’ve tried to avoid talking about it, to be honest. Reflecting on it, it was probably the best day of my career so far in terms of my achievements on the field, but I was playing for my country and it was about putting my team first,” Mulder said.

“I had the opportunity to be captain, even though it's a once-off thing, and you have influence from everywhere in terms of terms of coaching and people guiding you along the way. I think the best decision was made for the team. Personally, I mean, getting 400 would have been cool but, I said what I said about Brian Lara and his record…

“He messaged me afterwards and said he wished I had gone for it. So, I think that it’s also kind of bothering him a little bit, but overall, it was about winning the game, even though there was a lot of time. I was thinking about it even before lunch, what do we need for them to follow on – and could we bowl even before lunch? That's why I smoked a couple. But before we got there I got the message that we would bat until lunch. So yeah, I think the right decision was made for us,” Mulder said.

But it was after he was asked what he had learned about the experience that Mulder really opened up; evidently he has not enjoyed the intervening months.

“Firstly, I’d say I've learned a lot about myself. It was the best innings of my life, and I've never been criticized as much. I’ll probably never score 300 again in my life, and I got abused from everywhere around the world. I decided to remove myself from all social media, to be honest, because of the crap I was getting from people,” said Mulder after declining dozens of interview requests since.

“I mean, honestly, in my opinion, it's the best innings I’ll ever play in terms of how many chances I gave, and how well I felt I was playing. And, obviously, I did score 367, and there's very few people who’ve done that so it’s very nice to think I am one of those.

“But my perspective about it has all changed. I don't really care what people think anymore. I mean, you’ve got all these podcasts and stuff, Alistair Cook said I wasn't good enough to bat at three, then I get a 300 and he said ‘yes, I have to swallow my words’.

“I mean, people who are really, really influential in the cricketing world…Sometimes I think you have to take what people say with a pinch of salt, just believe in yourself. That’s the key takeaway for me. I was always someone who really looked at what people said about me, especially people at a really high level of the game but, where I'm at now, it’s just, if I do my best every day, I'm always going to be happy.

“So, it is what it is, but I need to believe in my morals and values first. And that's very much the way that I look at it now.”

The ‘duty of care’ toward Mulder from head coach Shukri Conrad when he made the decision to declare at lunchtime was well intentioned. The lifetime of grief he was attempting to spare him from, however, may have been replaced by a different, everlasting recrimination. Records are there to be broken and the majority of professional players appear to believe that it was Mulder’s ‘duty’ to claim, or attempt to claim, the crown jewels.

It was perfectly clear that he remains in two minds about what happened. A once in a multi-generation chance to… never mind. The team won.