Nortje: Having the nickname ‘Dutchman’ is a compliment

Proteas fast bowler Anrich Nortje takes his nickname of Dutchman as a compliment because he believes it implies attributes such as determination and spirit and he certainly showed large amounts of those characteristics during his 191 minutes and 136 balls at the crease as nightwatchman on Saturday on the third day of the third Test against England at St George’s Park.

Nortje survived a torrid start to the day for the Proteas as England off-spinner Dominic Bess removed both Dean Elgar (35) and Faf du Plessis (8) in his second and third overs of the day, South Africa plunging to 71 for four in reply to the tourists’ massive 499 for nine declared in the first innings.

Although Rassie van der Dussen helped steady the ship and scored 24, he too fell trying to attack Bess, leaving the Proteas in dire straits on 109 for five.

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But Nortje just kept hanging in and fighting at the other end, through the extreme, aggressive pace of Mark Wood and testing wiles of Bess, before the golden arm of star all-rounder Ben Stokes eventually dismissed him in the 45^th over of a rain-shortened day which saw South Africa close on 208 for six.

The 26-year-old Nortje is playing in just his fifth Test and his nickname only came to light this week when bowling coach Charl Langeveldt called him “a proper Dutchman” in a television interview with SuperSport.

“I was waiting for this question about being a proper Dutchman!” Nortje said at the press conference after the close of play on Saturday.

“I’ve been called it for quite a long time but it’s the first time it’s been used on air. I take it as a compliment, it means I will always try and fight and come hard, show a lot of heart. When the going is tough and it’s 40⁰ I will try and make things happen; if I have to take a few blows, I’m willing,” Nortje said.

Not only has Nortje toiled impressively as a bowler in this series, bowling 90 overs and taking 11 wickets at 28.81, but he has faced 248 deliveries as a batsman, most of them as a nightwatchman in the first Test at Centurion and on Saturday at St George’s Park.

Only four Proteas batsmen have occupied the crease for more balls and Nortje has hung around for longer than Faf du Plessis and Zubayr Hamza.

In the third Test that has involved seeing off Wood, who was sending 150km/h thunderbolts at his body from around the wicket, but Nortje was in line and standing his ground.

“I was more interested in when they showed the comparison of our bowling actions on the big screen! But I haven’t really had to deal with that sort of bowling in my career before, so it gives me confidence that I can do it. It’s a slower pitch here but it was still nice to do it, even if it’s not the most pleasant thing to have to do, to be honest. But I’ve worked hard on the short ball,” Nortje said.

The Uitenhage product said his strategy with the bat was just to face as many balls as possible, which is perfectly understandable for someone with a self-confessed love of batting.

So far in this series he has a 100% pass rate as nightwatchman, his 40 in over two hours at Centurion being a crucial factor in South Africa’s victory.

“My approach was quite similar to Centurion, just try and stay in as long as possible and face as many balls as I could. I was happy to take time out of the game, it was all about not forcing things, not trying to force runs. I really enjoy batting and it’s nice to see the improvement, to see the results after all my hard work. For me it’s not about the runs.

“It’s difficult to compare what I did with the rest of the top-order because it’s a bigger battle between them and the bowlers. If I get a half-volley I’m just going to block it, but they have to try and take the game forward. It’s natural for them to play that way and look for runs. But I’m not in the batting meeting, I can tell you that, so I don’t really know what their plans are,” Nortje said.

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