The 2008 Under-19 World Cup was known for a lot of things. It saw Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson take the field in their country’s colours. India claimed the title, beating South Africa in the final. And in the Proteas XI that day, bowling two overs and not used with the bat, was Sybrand Engelbrecht, who had earlier claimed a spectacular flying catch at gully that has stood the test of time and still comes up in search results for ‘greatest catch ever’ online.

The boy who took that catch, now a 35-year-old man, was Netherlands’ rescuer-in-chief today in Lucknow. Coming in to bat at No.7 after a top order collapse that saw Netherlands down and almost 0ut at 71-5, Engelbrecht dug in. Along with Logan van Beek, he added 130 runs for the seventh wicket. The stand helped them end up with 262, a competitive total.

Englebrecht’s journey from the 2008 Under-19 World Cup to the ongoing men’s ODI World Cup has been a fascinating one.

Having shot to the limelight in Malaysia in 2008, Engelbrecht was likened to Jonty Rhodes for his acrobatics in the field. However, the graduation from age-group cricket to senior cricket was not an easy one for him. In fact, it was one he failed to complete and eventually bailed out of.

By 2016, Engelbrecht had retired from all forms of cricket having failed to make it to the senior South African side in the eight years since playing the Under-19 World Cup for them.

[caption id=”attachment_588300″ align=”alignnone” width=”1024″] Sybrand Englebrecht scored a fighting 70 against Sri Lanka in Lucknow[/caption]

While the age-group to senior cricket graduation might not have gone to plan, Engelbrecht’s educational graduation did. He finished a degree in finance while still playing, and did a post-graduate qualification in project management. With a future in cricket looking bleak and a strong educational background in place, Engelbrecht made the jump.

“I started working for a business called Fairtree in January 2017,” Engelbrecht said. “Two years into my corporate career, I did an MBA from Stellenbosch Business School. So, it was a couple of years that I didn’t really have much to do with cricket.”

Four years into his career with Fairtree, Engelbrecht moved to Netherlands as his company looked to expand. He took that as an opportunity to resume his cricket.

“It was really when the family and I moved to Netherlands that I picked up the bat again, because it was kind of the easiest way to integrate into the community and to make new friends,” said Engelbrecht. “When I picked the bat again, it was kind of like, I missed it. And I fell in love with it all over again. It was good.”

Engelbrecht stood out in Topklasse, Netherlands’ premier 50-over competition, averaging 66 in 2021. But even as he resumed his cricket, playing the World Cup was a distant dream. It was only after the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe in June earlier this year that both Engelbrecht and the Netherlands Cricket Board seriously started exploring the possibilities.

On receiving approval from the ICC that he’s eligible to play for the Netherlands, Engelbrecht made his ‘A’ team debut a week later before making his senior international debut against Pakistan, in India, at the World Cup. And now, he’s played a starring role in a strong comeback from Netherlands in their batting innings against Sri Lanka.

Still a full-time employee at Fairtree, where this rollercoaster of a career takes Engelbrecht next is anyone’s guess.