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| BOETA DIPPENAAR: Since making 111 in his first class debut for Free State, as a 19-year-old on tour in the West Indies in 1996, Boeta Dippenaar has been touted as a future Test opener, but has had trouble establishing himself against Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs. Kirsten's honeymoon break in November 1999 afforded Dippenaar a Test debut against Zimbabwe, and the international suspension of Gibbs for his part in the match-fixing scandal, which also deluged Dippenaar's former Eagles captain Hansie Cronje, offered the Kimberley-born batsman a chance to establish his name in the Test side, with a series against New Zealand. CricketLine caught up with him prior to the second Test against the Black Caps. 1. Your Christian names are Hendrik Human. How did you get the nickname, Boeta? I was a bit of a laat lammetjie [an Afrikaans term for late addition to the family] and because my brother was 11 years older than me, he called me Boeta in the sense that it means "little brother". 2. Do you come from a sporting family and if so what were their major achievements? Both my mom and my dad were good at sport. My mother played inter-provincial netball, both for Boland and for Griqualand West and currently represents Griquas in vets tennis while my father played rugby for Southern Natal and represented Griquas in athletics. 3. Who had the greatest influence on your development as a young cricketer prior to your break-through into first-class cricket? My parents; without a doubt. They were fantastic. They played a huge role in my early development, not only by creating a love and passion for sport, but also by ensuring that every opportunity was open to me, sometimes at great sacrifice to themselves in time and money. For example they made sure I went to Grey College in Bloemfontein, one of the country’s finest sporting educational institutions. 4. Who were your boyhood heroes and have you attempted to model your game on any of them? I had no real boyhood heroes to speak of though I have, from time to time, admired various sportsmen for a variety of reasons. For instance, right now I have great respect for Michael Johnson (the American 400m World and Olympic track champion), both for his outstanding performance and for his composure in handling the pressure at the Sydney Olympics. I also admire the professional manner in which Steve Waugh handles himself. 5. What is your preferred spot in the batting line-up and do you have any aspirations as a bowler? Opening the batting is fine for me as I definitely prefer to bat in the top three. I know it’s tougher than batting lower in the order, but it does offer more opportunities. No, I don’t have any aspirations as a bowler. I did a bit of off-break bowling at school, but bowling is not really my thing. I’d rather concentrate my energies on my batting. 6. To date what would you consider to be your most memorable moments on the cricket field? Two stand out right now. The first was when I walked out to field in my debut Test against Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein last year – I had to pinch myself; it was literally a lifelong dream come true and it was made all that more memorable by the fact that it was on my home ground and my folks and friends were all there to see it. My second great moment was when I made my first first-class century against Barbados in 1996. 7. And your worst moments? Being dropped. They’ve always been my worst moments, and I’ve been dropped both by Free State and by South Africa. 8. Who do you rate as the toughest bowlers you have ever faced? I’m probably lucky I’ve always been on the same side as Allan Donald, and I’m pretty new to international cricket so I haven’t faced most of the world’s best bowlers. But among those I have played against, I would have to say Brett Schultz. I played against him in domestic inter-provincial cricket and at his best he was a very awkward customer to bat against. 9. Excluding your South African team-mates, who do you rate most highly among the world’s batsmen you have seen, either in the flesh or on TV? Definitely Steve Waugh, but right now I have great deal of admiration for Andy Flower. I have thoroughly enjoyed his most recent performances. 10. Do you think the match-fixing controversy that virtually coincided with your entry into Test cricket has made things more difficult for you and the other young players in the South African team? Not at all. I was shocked, of course. I had so much respect for Hanse Cronje – and still do, as a matter of fact. But to be honest it had no effect on me personally and right now I get the feeling that it’s very much a thing of the past as far as the team is concerned, even among the older players. |