In December 2016, Sybrand Engelbrecht retired from professional cricket.
After nearly seven years, he made his international debut at the age of 35. World Cup competition, no less.
Sybrand’s enduring global public image is the capture he made at backward point during the 2008 Under-19 World Cup. It is the only image that even the broadcasters could show of him, and he is reminded of it every time he rolls his eyes and says, “I’m a little bit older now.” There is undoubtedly more to him, his life, and his cricket, all of which have been hidden from public view for the past fifteen years.
After playing 54 first-class, 57 List A, and 45 Twenty20 games in South Africa’s domestic setup and realizing that his career was unlikely to experience a significant uptick in the near future, he decided to alter his focus. A month after retiring from cricket and armed with a degree in finance and project management, he accepted a corporate position at the business school Fairtree.
“It was the gap in these years when I didn’t have much to do with cricket. It was really when my family and I moved to Netherlands (in 2021) that I picked up my bat again. It was the easiest way for us to integrate into the community and make new friends. When I picked the bat up, I missed it and fell in love all over again.
“My wife stopped working because we had a little one. He was six months old when we made the move. We’re very, very blessed to be there. It’s a good place to live. The community we’re in is fantastic, we’ve made some very good friends and the cricket guys are absolutely world-class. I’m very, very fortunate to be here.”
Playing for the Voorburg Cricket Club, he appeared in three consecutive Division 1 Topklasse finals. However, it was unknown whether he was eligible to compete for the national team.
“We’ve consistently done well as a club. We’ve integrated and built a strong base, a strong foundation within the club. In our club, we’ve got a lot of guys who are in the Dutch setup. It’s always been fantastic to test my skills against those guys and help and try and guide and learn and help them where I can.
“I suppose, it was always at the back of my mind (to be playing international cricket) but it was never the primary focus. It was never ‘Oh, I want to play for Netherlands’. It only became more apparent once we started to find out if I’m eligible or not. We started that just after the qualifiers (in 2023). I did a bit of research and spoke a little bit. We thought I was close, so we checked with the ICC and they said, ‘Okay, you’re eligible.’ A week after that I made my debut for the Netherlands A team and just got into the environment, into the team, and got blessing from the business to get a proper crack – to firstly get to the World Cup and get with the entire team. They have been fantastic; they have taken all the workload off so that I can just focus on hitting the cricket ball.”
In his maiden match against New Zealand, Engelbrecht had little to offer the Dutch team. He played no role with the ball, and by the time he stepped up to bat, the chase was over and the process was merely a formality.
Whether to demonstrate his fitness or enthusiasm, he kept pressing for singles and twos with a lift in his step. Performing the traditional tasks properly. He is still employed full-time and presumably uncertain of how long he will be able to devote himself to international-level cricket, but he is confident that the Dutch game is progressing.
“Pretty disappointed about the result (against New Zealand). We are moving in the right direction but we need to learn a little bit faster as a team. Personally, it’s a dream come true [for me]. Any young kid who plays cricket wants to play international cricket and to do that at the World Cup is really special. It’s a moment I’ll look back at fondly but the important thing for me and us as a team is that we learn and grow, and try and be better and try and win some games. It’s special. But at the same time, we really want to come out here and compete and push and make the case known that Dutch cricket is going in the right direction.
“It is not as professional as the structures and the systems are in South Africa. There is a lot less capital involved. But the environment that has been created by the management team led primarily by Ryan Cook, he has been nothing short of phenomenal. The cultures and values they have instilled within the team are fantastic. I really believe we are not playing to our potential as yet, but Dutch cricket is on the right track. With a little bit of capital and a little bit of time, we can be a force to reckon with in the years to come. It’s not near where it’s for some of the bigger nations but we’re working extremely hard with what we’ve got to make a bigger impact.”
For now, he’s getting set for his next assignment – against South Africa on October 13 – where he will encounter a few familiar faces.
