BIG INTERVIEW

I'm the softest guy you can meet off the field: Andre Nel

by Kaushik Rangarajan • Last updated on

"If you don't want to give everything, you might as well leave it. That's always been my motto," Andre Nel said. © Cricbuzz

Andre Nel liked a confrontation or two on the field. In fact, he adored them and felt the adrenaline of a tussle with batsmen charged him up good. The former South African fast bowler retired in 2009 with the reputation of being quite a 'character', but reveals how he's exactly the opposite off the field.

In an interview with Cricbuzz, the 40-year-old opened up on his coaching ambitions, a few regrets for his off-field troubles during his playing days, the disappointment at the dearth of similarly-feisty cricketers today, the equation he shares with one of his most famous nemesis - S Sreesanth, and more.

Excerpts:

Is Andre Nel the same guy after his playing days?

It's funny, you guys have seen me on television and I am quite aggressive and passionate. But I am pretty relaxed off the field. I think I have done a lot of things wrong in my cricketing career also but the nice thing about it is that I didn't have the opportunities to see and correct my mistakes, but now when I see the guys doing the same things that I was doing, I go and tell them 'guys I know where this is going, probably go this way.' So that sometimes is a nice thing to be able to do. But I am pretty relaxed and laid back these days and probably the softest guy you can meet off the field. But I still think when I got the opportunity to play for my country, [I knew] you might get one chance and you might as well give it everything. If you don't want to give everything, you might as well leave it. That's always been my motto in my life and that's why I always did well for my country.

What have you been up to these days?

I coached Eastern side for a while. I have always been in the Titans' set up, involved in National academy. Unfortunately, I moved on to work for my own stuff. I am doing some work in marketing, looking after our suite. Training guys and playing some golf, it's actually quite a nice job. But I still love being around people, being involved with sport in general -- rugby, cricket, soccer. That's what I have been doing, I still love watching cricket. It's been quite enjoyable, something away from sport for me. But cricket is always my first love, I have been involved with it one way or the other. I would like to get back to coaching one day if there is an opportunity coming up. But I am enjoying what I am doing at the moment.

"I come with aggression, you come with a battle back and you show me that you are not scared, that's what sport is all about," Nel said. ©Getty

Why did you give up coaching then?

Thing is, it's quite difficult in South Africa. Unfortunately, our contracts didn't get renewed, I was asking questions the franchise I was coaching at, what's going on with some funds and they didn't quite enjoy that. Eventually, I would rather move out and do something where I can be myself. I was sort of dictated to do what I was doing... I won't do it. That's quite odd for me. If I want to coach, if my name [is] attached to a side, I want to coach the way I do, and do the best I can and I wasn't allowed to do that, so I know by now you probably know I am very passionate about things I do; if I do, I do it properly.

We [Nel and Sreesanth] always used to have a laugh together, we would see each other and laugh. We never had hard feelings

You spoke about mistakes you wouldn't want the kids to make. Can you elaborate?

I think the off-field demeanour is probably the thing that I was pretty much disappointed about in my career. But when I played, I always played to the best of my capabilities, gave my best. I said a few words to few people but that was always part of my armoury. I don't know if that was best action, but the moment I looked for a fight or a scrap, it didn't mean I wanted to do something to the batsman. But I knew it made me a better bowler when I was aggressive and I used to look for a fight to make a better bowler and that's how I wanted to do it. I wouldn't change anything about how I played and what I did on a cricket field, but all the things that I did off the field probably changed a lot for me, all those stupid things I did, and that's where I sort of guide the guys off the field sometimes these days because no one takes the time to educate the players when they all of a sudden get all this fortune and fame when they play for the country. There is a lot money, lot of opportunities and sometimes they don't get coached or educated properly [about] what to do with all that all of sudden. And having been all through that and also made all those mistakes during that period, you can guide guys in the right way so that they don't make those mistakes in their careers and don't have to deal with unpleasant situations and that's the thing I would change about my career.

What if you saw an Andre Nel in a kid?

It all depends... you have to understand your players. You might see if this helps a bowler to be better bowler, being aggressive. Some bowlers might not want to be aggressive to be a good bowler. You have to see what these guys are about. Sometimes I wish Morne Morkel was a bit more aggressive. He is a brilliant bowler but he always seems to be so calm and relaxed. It's brilliant, that suits him but if he showed that aggressive intent to certain batters, they would probably think 'oh what's wrong with Morne Morkel? Something's up with him, now he is looking for a bit of a fight!' That could become a different armoury, different angle to Morne Morkel.

He is a brilliant bowler but he could show little bit more aggression, that could make him a better bowler than he is now. So it all depends upon what the bowlers want, understanding what the player is about and then you take it from there. And not everything is about aggression -- if you are smart and like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, no aggression but pure skill, swing and talent [are enough]. You have to work with players' capabilities and see what he needs to make him a better bowler and that's the kind of challenge for a coach to understand what these players want and what's best for them. I have played for a long time, I played County cricket and I played a lot here, international cricket, and yes it's a pity that I can't use that knowledge to players but I will one day be able to use that to somebody.

So you enjoyed getting in people's face?

That's what sport was for me. I come with aggression, you come with a battle back and you show me that you are not scared, that's what sport is all about. That's why you want to play international sport -- the true battle. And whoever comes on top, well done to him and that's what it is about. I have also lost some battles and it was enjoyable. Sometimes you lose and sometimes you win but make sure as better sportsman, you go and shake hands with the opponent whether you win or lose, and go on from there.

I would love to bowl at Kohli. I always wanted to get the best players out. Yes I might have failed but if I can compete at that level, I would have loved to bowl to him

I always enjoyed the bat-ball battle but I am also a man, I like giving it back and get him out. So you still win that battle. But that's the nice thing about it. If you want to play international sport, you can't accept enjoying winning a battle or losing a battle... 'Ok listen, this time you won, may be I will beat you next time.' That's what sports is all about, I have always enjoyed that, that's in my nature, I like doing that. The moment people called me something, that's my nature to prove you wrong. That's the most I enjoy about sports.

So you are friends with Sreesanth?

I don't think I was angry, I can't even remember what I said to him, these [are] things probably [said] in the heat of the moment and battle and after that it was gone. I forgot about it straightaway. It's one thing, I could never tell you what I said to you on a field, because it's in the heat of the moment and after that it's gone irrespective what's happened then. Yeah, I heard he has gone to court in match-fixing and apparently he is in big trouble. He has found a lawyer to defend him now, wants to play in England or somewhere. So I still follow. But he was a good cricketer of that time, I will always respect him for that. He was a good cricketer and a good bowler of that era.

Did you speak after that dance?

We always used to have a laugh together, we would see each other and laugh. We never had hard feelings, it was in the heat of the moment. But that's the thing, in South Africa, everyone misinterpreted me as aggressive. Yes, I was aggressive but I would be the first person to go and have beer with you and have a laugh with you. Most of the guys I had the biggest fight with are probably best friends with me. So people don't understand this person away from cricket. It's always easier to make up opinions on what you see on television but never make an effort to meet you off the field and that's the nice thing about me.

Do you think modern cricket lacks characters like you? Are you entertained?

The rules have also changed so much that you cannot be a character anymore. You have to be quite restrained. You can't do as much anymore. It does make it difficult to have characters in cricket these days. But there's so much talent that almost overpowers the characters. I can probably name the characters off my fingers on one hand. That's a sad thing. I think, it's not the images, it's the rule changes, and the penalties are getting so harsh that they are taking the characters out of cricket because they are not allowed to express themselves. Yes, there are a lot of people watching, lot more kids you got to be noted of that. Be sensible. But it would be nice to see a bit more characters, it's a little more fun watching guys, not sledging it out, but having a little go at each other. Because sometimes it's a little monotonous for me because it's the same thing. Bat dominates, very rarely ball dominates. Something different is always exciting to see.

What if this de-merit point systems were in place at your time?

I wouldn't have played a lot of matches. I think it's a good thing but also these days you should try to push the boundaries. They're all too scared to push the boundaries. Rules are there to be pushed, not bent, but pushed to the limit. I think a lot of guys are very scared to do it. I think it's a good thing. [It] manages players better, and less trouble. More respect for players and for kids and people seeing it. That's a good thing but it takes away the characters. I know I wouldn't have played a lot. But I also know that if I hadn't done that, I would never be half as decent a player that I was.

If my daughter sees me on YouTube, she sees me shouting and screaming. At least she knows the real person behind what's going on, on the field

So who are these characters you would have loved to bowl to?

I would love to bowl at Kohli. I always wanted to get the best players out. Yes I might have failed but if I can compete at that level, I would have loved to bowl to him. I would love to bowl to Pandya too... he's a nice, lovely character. He is always looking for his battle, that's his nature. He wants to counter-attack. That's a challenge I would have liked to take on. Also, Shikhar Dhawan - looks like a guy who doesn't veer away from a battle. The bigger the battle... that's what I would have wanted. These three seem like real characters in the Indian side. There are other good players - like Pujara is an unbelievable player but he doesn't give anything away. But those three guys look like, if you give them a battle, they'll give you a battle back. That's the guys I would like to bowl to.

Did a batsman ever start a sledging battle with you?

No. It didn't always happen. It's almost a mutual thing. If I say something, you can sometimes get the batters to talk back to you. The batters are usually always quiet. Probably the biggest person was Matthew Hayden. He used to almost look for a fight with you. Because he is such a big guy. But very rarely you had a batter come back at you or saying the first things. I know there's an instance, you can check out on YouTube with Gautam Gambhir. I think it's the initial thing... where you look for a fight and then they come back. Never a batter has started the confrontation.

Ok, how did that nickname Gunther come about?

It's the funniest thing how the name started. We played in England, one of our technical guys in the team, said sometimes when I bowl... you know the german guys going to the mountains... they lack oxygen going to the brain, they go slightly loopy. He said when I bowl, it looks like I get lack of oxygen to the brain and I go loopy. So he nicknamed me Gunther, an aggressive German name. It was just a fun thing in the team. The press got a sniff of it. At the end of the day, It was actually nice. Because the press got carried away with the Gunther issue and they made a bigger issue of it and I didn't have to do anything else. The work's been done for me. It actually helped me because the press helped me to talk myself up and make myself more aggressive than I wanted to be. He never comes up anymore, he disappears. He hardly ever comes up.

Brett Schultz wore the 'Bear' moniker with pride, as do you. Is it a South Africa fast bowlers' thing - this aggression?

I think it's inbuilt. We are just so competitive. Certain guys take competitiveness and passion in different ways. All the guys... AB or whoever, Morne is really passionate about playing for SA. But he does it differently. I think a lot of South Africans do it like they want to show it to people sometimes. Maybe it's a show, maybe its not. It's an inner desire that you cannot control it. It just happens and then afterwards you go 'shit what happened here'. I think it's inbuilt in South Africans. We are just so passionate about sport and we just show it in different ways than most people.

How much of that is due to the influence of Rugby?

It could be a lot. Growing up playing Rugby and contact sport, it might be. I don't know, it all depends on the person. I think it comes to a place when you are playing international cricket, you know which frame of mind you have to be in to be at your optimal performance. And sometimes you have to do certain things to make sure you get into that space to perform at the best level. And that means if you need to get aggressive, get you into a fight, to get into an optimum performance level, then you have to do that to be the best. I think that's what sometimes guys do, cause as an international sportsman, you know what level you have to be at to be the best. If you need to do certain things to be there, so be it.

Why pacers in particular?

We are South Africans, we are big guys, we eat a lot. We are athletes. I think that's just our thing... our DNA. Fast bowlers are hard to find. But because we are quite competitive and big guys, they sometimes get found easier here. Yes you have to nurture them and make sure you guide them the right way , fitness wise and strength wise. Don't use them out too quickly too fast. Lot of times, you find a really good, really fast bowler, he might be 18 and if you push him too quickly, by 22 he'll be tired of fast bowling. And that's why a lot of guys, the late developers as bowlers would do better because they haven't been pushed so quickly so fast. I think it helps that our guys play more rugby and then all of a sudden by 16-17, they realise 'I can bowl fast', and they start focussing on that department. So I think it helps us. My legacy is that hopefully one day I can be involved with cricket again. Especially I've always been passionate about bowling and would love to educate and equip international bowlers to be ready. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, so be it, I'll get on with life.

Tell me about your action. You had a weird side step. Did you ever consider changing it?

I took a big step. I wanted to change it but if I changed it, I would have been the worst bowler. Because I got to that level playing for South Africa in that way. All of a sudden if you changed it, it might take the effectiveness out of you. It wasn't the best action, everyone realised that. That's why I had to look for a fight. The moment I got to the crease, I had to be really aggressive towards where I want to bowl. If I had a fight with a batter, my momentum would push more to him. So I understood exactly how my action worked. Yes it wasn't the best. I spoke to Mark Boucher a lot, knowing he could see. He was the best guy to tell me the momentum is coming to him. The moment I knew my momentum was going to him, yes I knew my action wasn't great, but if it was strong at the crease - I had certain check points in my action and I really had to understand it to make it effective. Yes I could have changed but I would have lost my effectiveness of what I could do. I looked like I would swing the ball in, but I swung the ball out. It was completely different, it was probably strange. But I just sort of worked out what worked for me. Luckily enough, all the coaches that worked with me understood. We had an understanding that they had to let me just guard my own action and they'll guide me along the way.

How did you pick it up?

That's how I started bowling. I actually started as a batter at No.4 in school, bowled a little bit. Eventually I started bowling. In my area, there were not a lot of cricket coaches. I just always made it work for myself, made it more efficient for me. That's how I bowled since 14-15 years old. Somehow I made it work together.

You were vocal after missing India tour in 2008 when South Africa favoured Charl Langeveldt? How do you see that situation panning out for today's generation?

It's a complex issue, it'll always be a part of our country. And that's just one of those things. It was disappointing at that time. That things you cannot control. Yes you can feel upset. The biggest thing is you can comeback from the disappointment, to show people. That's my nature... just show people you should have selected me. As South Africans, you have to accept it'll be part of your country. Make sure your skills are best, you are fitter, you are stronger. If you don't get picked then you can always walk away with dignity. You can say you've got every chance to be picked.

Years later when your daughter (now 3) sees your clips on YouTube, what would you like to tell her?

If my daughter sees me on YouTube, she sees me shouting and screaming. At least she knows the real person behind what's going on, on the field. She will know who is the real Andre Nel and not what people saw on television.

© Cricbuzz

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