De Zorzi stirs South Africa up with 'positive' play in bid to make a spot his own

Tony de Zorzi had sent Mukesh Kumar over midwicket and wide long-on, and Kuldeep Yadav over square leg. He had pulled and swept and slog swept, and so when Tilak Varma dropped it short, in the 35th over, and de Zorzi didn't quite get hold of it well enough, he ran a single and tapped himself on the helmet in irritation. "Use your head," he seemed to be saying to himself. He was on 90 at the time, and did not want to miss out on a first international milestone.

The next ball he faced from Tilak, in the 37th over, was also short. This time, de Zorzi hung back in his crease and sent it into the crowd. That shot took him to 98. Four balls later, he drove just wide of the cover fielder and ran his way to his first ODI century. As he got there, his first thought was of his mother Natasha, and whether she had returned home from work in time to see him raise his bat. His next thought was of his friend Roger, a university team-mate who cannot play cricket anymore and had asked him to do a stirring-the-pot celebration. De Zorzi used his bat as the spoon, and the Gqeberha air, heavy with summer-holiday cheer, as the vessel.

"It was for a friend of mine that had to stop playing cricket. He used to call me the sauce," de Zorzi said at the post-match press conference. "And I guess some people will also say [it means], 'He's cooking'."

And no one will argue with that. De Zorzi's innings of 119* was of such accomplishment that it bettered South Africa's collective effort in each of their last three ODIs against India in which they scored 116, 83 and 99. He navigated his way through a testing new-ball spell from Arshdeep Singh, who beat him with swing, and Mukesh, who moved the ball off the seam, and shared in a record first-wicket stand at St George's Park with Reeza Hendricks.

"We complemented each other quite nicely. He is a senior in the team, and someone I look up to." de Zorzi said. "When the ball is moving around like it does, it's important that one of us tries to stay in - and we were both able to do that - to make it easier for the guys coming in next. India are quite a skilful attack, and once the ball starts to swing, it suits them. It's important to find your options on the wicket."

Hendricks is a more classical player, who could rely on a fairly tight technique to get him through. De Zorzi got comfortable in the crease, and was not afraid to stay back and play his shots from there. He was deep in it when he drove Avesh Khan through the covers, with a lovely piece of timing for example. And de Zorzi also made sure he scored rather quickly despite the pressure India created. His fifty came off 55 balls, while at the same point in the innings, Hendricks had faced 53 balls and had half the number of runs.

In essence, that is why de Zorzi has been given an opportunity in this series: because he is aggressive, and he knows it. "I'll always try to be positive. That's what has been asked of me," he said.

And because South Africa face an ODI future without Quinton de Kock, who retired from the format after the World Cup, and they are looking for candidates for the future. De Zorzi understands he has been given a chance to make a spot his own, and "it's up to me to take it".

So far, 2023 has been a year in which he has done just that. He made his Test debut in March, and scored 85 in his third innings. He has since kept Rassie van der Dussen out of the squad for the upcoming series against India, and will find himself among South Africa's senior-most batters on their tour to New Zealand next year, when they will travel with a makeshift side as several of their frontline players will be occupied at the SA20. Therein is the chance for de Zorzi to establish himself in the Test team.

He has also capitalised on his opportunities in the ODI set-up, and by all accounts, is a talented and popular player with a bright future. As he reached his century, Nandre Burger, de Zorzi's domestic tour room-mate, was the first to leap to his feet in the dugout, clapping and fist-pumping with memories of his first, second and third ODI wickets seemingly distant from his mind.

Beuran Hendricks, another provincial team-mate, also stirred an imaginary pot while in the dressing room, even as Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller and Temba Bavuma all stood to applaud de Zorzi. In the stands, the St George's Park band played a little louder, the children started a chorus of "Tony, Tony", and the festivities of South Africa's victory began.

"It is quite a feeling, taking your helmet off and having people sing your name," de Zorzi said. "I wasn't going to tear up, but I was very excited. It was a full flood of emotions."

As for de Zorzi's mom, he hadn't heard from her by the time he addressed the media immediately, but he was fairly sure she must've known about his milestone. "If she hasn't, then she's drifting," he joked.

And when he does get to speak to her, he expects she "will probably be in tears and then she will talk about the rest of the day and work", de Zorzi said. "She's my anchor. She won't let me get ahead of myself, but hopefully she'll be proud."