THE STORY OF MALANS
The Malans' best has yet to come
Janneman Malan's unbeaten 129 helped South Africa seal the three-match ODI series versus Australia © Getty
If you're born a Malan in South Africa, prepare to be prominent. World
War II Royal Air Force fighter pilot Sailor Malan was a champion of
human rights in a society where they remain unachieved thanks to the
evil perpetrated by people like DF Malan, the first prime minister of
the apartheid state, which went through its death throes while the
supreme commander of the armed forces and defence minister was Magnus
Malan. Riaan Malan is a mad, bad, dangerous to know writer and musician
whose searing 1990 memoir, "My Traitor's Heart", remains arguably the
best book yet published in this country and unarguably the best dealing
with those dark days. If you want to know the truth of what living and
dying in South Africa was like then, read it.
Now we have Janneman Malan,
smiter of a series-clinching century in Bloemfontein on Wednesday in
only his second ODI. His career in the format started in Paarl on
Saturday with his toe being crunched in front of his stumps courtesy of a
wickedly swinging 143 kilometre-an-hour delivery from Mitchell Starc.
That made Malan the only debutant dismissed by the first ball of a
game. His evening ended with him limping off the field because of a
cramping glute. Pieter Malan, his brother, has given Test cricket a pair
of biceps each as big as both of Nathan Bracken's thighs. That and six
hours at the crease on debut against England at Newlands in January for
his 84.
Then there's Andre Malan, still another brother, who has played 50
first-class matches, only one for a franchise rather than a second-tier
provincial side. He has scored eight centuries in 80 innings and
averages 38.95. His fast bowling has earned him 60 wickets, among them
two five-wicket hauls, at 29.10. You mightn't think that puts Andre in
the league of Janneman and Pieter, much less Malans of the stature of
Sailor and Riaan.
But, in the early hours of Thursday morning, with the truth of
Janneman's unbeaten 129 shining too brightly to be consigned to memory,
Andre took to social media and offered 1,318 blazing words that began:
"No. Those two letters must have made a nest in his mind and haunted him
as he went to rest in his hostel bed that night. But deep down he knew
the truth. That when he gets his chance he will make the hairs on the
back of whoever is fortunate enough to watch him go about his work stand
up. He will provide them with so much joy and awe that they, too, will
believe in achieving exceptional feats while making it look like a
weekend jog around the block. That is what they do, the special ones.
They make mere mortals feel invincible. They make them stand up when
they are alone at home in front of the television and cheer as if they
are there, in the colosseum. They make them go out in the yard and argue
who gets to be who in the game that is about to be played. Theatre.
Art."
What was that fateful "No"? Janneman wasn't originally part of the
North West University squad picked to play in a T20 tournament in
February 2015, even though he had scored 129 in a franchise Cubs game
three weeks earlier. By then he also had an undefeated 214 in an
under-17 provincial match and 10 half-centuries to show for his 37
innings since the start of his under-13 provincial career. But his
disappointment at being overlooked was eased when injury earned him a
place in the varsity squad.
Still, he had scored only 72 runs in four innings when he walked out
with Wihan Lubbe to open the batting in the semi-final against
Stellenbosch University. They put on 140 with Lubbe scoring 52 and Malan
the last man out, with a ball left in the innings, for 99. He was one
of three runout victims in an innings in which none of the other seven
players who batted reached double figures. Stellenbosch reeled in their
target of 178 with four wickets standing and an over to spare. But three
innings later Malan hammered 140 in the national club championships,
and less than three weeks after that he made his first century at senior
level: 129 not out in a provincial one-day game. A first-class century,
174, came eight months hence. After 65 innings at that level he has
scored nine more hundreds and averages 50.36. International prominence
awaits.
That's long since been achieved at Newlands, where December 17, 2016
will forever be a special day for the Malan brothers. First Pieter
converted his overnight 51 not out into 117 before Western Province's
second innings declaration came. Then, in North West's search for a
target of 351, Janneman made 135 and Andre 103 not out. Pieter took the
catch that snuffed out his brothers' march toward a century stand at 89.
All three Malans now live in Cape Town. Pieter, the eldest, moved in
September 2013 in search of better playing opportunities while Janneman,
the youngest, was still at high school. Now Andre, his wife, Elzane,
and Janneman share a house in the winelands.
None of which tells the Malans' story nearly as well as Andre: "I met
Janneman before he was born. Myself and Pieter incessantly whispered
against our mother's pregnant belly: 'We are waiting for you. Hurry up
so we can get playing.' When the news came that he was born [in
Nelspruit] at a healthy 4.1 kilogrammes we jumped for joy. Growing up he
had to start off his backyard playing career by taking cover behind a
big tree in our backyard when we were playing our cricket games. He soon
got the go ahead from our insanely knowledgeable (about cricket and
everything else) mother that he had outgrown the protection of the bark
and was able to now fully compete in Suiderkruis Street 64's sanctioned
cricket games. Our youthful and loving father was the groundsman,
umpire, first change bowler and sponsor. Janneman, barely five or so,
bravely and enthusiastically strutted to the stumps when it was his turn
to bat. Barely being able to look over his pads, he confidently asked
for middle. Sooner rather than later the only middle at play was of the
bat he was holding in his hands."
As the words of a brother, they are blood rendered in ink. They are
also sentiments of support that transcend even so strong a link. And
they are damn fine words in their own right: "Here is where the special
ones live. On that razor-thin line between order and chaos. Where they
have to contend with the dragon of chaos that hoards the gold."
To think English isn't his first language. Or even his second. Like his
brothers Andre is a native Afrikaans-speaker, and he grew up with
Setswana also in his ears and his mouth. English is thus his third
language. He also speaks isiXhosa. An avid reader of mostly non-fiction -
"I said to myself if I'm going to read I might as well read something
that's going to help my studies, so I stopped reading fiction" - he
enjoys writing about "incidents that transcend the ordinary". Like his
brother's innings.
In an age of determinedly single-minded cricketers, who seem to only
cricket know and, worse, appear uninterested in much else unless it's
going to make them money, Andre Malan is a ray of hope. He holds a
bachelor of commerce degree in industrial psychology and labour
relations and an honours in the former. "I'm also registered as a
psychometrist. I'm not practising as one yet as I am just focusing on my
cricket career for now." His writing illuminates a keen interest in
people, so it's no surprise that he says, "I hope it humanises
cricketers." Might he consider taking up the pencil professionally?
"Perhaps. When someone tells me I'm too old and terrible to contract
anymore."
He's 29, so that's unlikely to happen for a few years yet. But he has a
calling when he gives up the foolery of flanneldom: the Malans could
use a few more Sailors to steer the family ship away from the wreckage
wrought by monsters like Magnus and DF. Go get that dragon.
© Cricbuzz
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