Coetzer out to build on Durham success
AFTER signing a new two-year contract with Durham, Kyle Coetzer will begin the new cricket season feeling rather more secure than he did last year.
The 23-year-old Scot might have been upstaged by Ottis Gibson in the revelation stakes, but his transformation in what he admits was a make-or-break year was remarkable.
With his contract due to run out at the end of the season, there was little prospect of it being renewed unless he could make a much greater impact than in the previous two years.
After scoring 67 on his championship debut at Cardiff in 2004, Coetzer's only first team appearances in 2005 and 2006 were against Bangladesh A and Oxford University.
"I did have one very good half-season in the A team but I couldn't break into the first team," he said.
"I knew my time might be running out so I had a chat with Geoff Cook prior to last winter about what to do.
"I had gone to South Africa every winter to play since leaving school and had been playing constantly, so we decided it would be a good idea to have a break.
"I didn't pick a bat up until early February last year and I went into the season feeling refreshed and more focused. I knew exactly what I wanted to get out of it and was in no doubt that I had to give it everything.
"I wanted to be more positive in my style of batting and not go into my shell through thinking about staying in rather than about scoring runs.
"Obviously you have to adapt between the different formats, but you can still be positive in four-day cricket. You just have to be more selective."
Coetzer still looked some way down the pecking order at the start of last season, but his big break came when he was selected for the third first-class match against Durham University.
The sheer class of his unbeaten 153 earned him a place in the subsequent Friends Provident Trophy tie at home to Lancashire, when he amazed everyone with the boldness of his strokeplay against Andrew Flintoff and Sajid Mahmood.
Although he holed out for 35, he had made a big statement and barely looked back for the rest of the season as he eventually made the No 3 position his own.
"All the players are here because we have ability and we have to back ourselves," he said. "The runs were flowing for me in pre-season and I took confidence from that.
"I felt good and it showed that the work we had decided on was right for me.
"Against Lancashire the adrenalin was flowing. There was one shot I flat-batted back over Sajid's head which I probably meant to go more to leg. It came off well and flew for four so I didn't let it bother me, whereas I might have let it frustrate me in the past."
Coetzer's maiden championship century came in early August, when he made 142 against Warwickshire at Riverside. He shared a patient stand of 182 in 61 overs with Ben Harmison, who also made his first championship ton.
"There had been a period when, as a team, we hadn't been making hundreds in four-day cricket," he said.
"We had talked about it and said we really needed to bat a full day, so Ben and I set out to do that. We weren't aiming to score at a particular rate."
Then came the Friends Provident Trophy final at Lord's, when Coetzer helped to light up an unforgettable day by making 61.
Despite having Paul Collingwood in the team, Durham showed great faith in their young Scot by sending him in at three.
"I was told I would bat there two days beforehand," he said. "I hadn't done anything massive in the competition, so it was just nice to be involved.
"There were a few nerves, but after the first few balls I was pretty focused. I was aware of the support, but it was only when I got out and was sitting on the balcony that I realised just how strong it was."
Just before he was out Coetzer picked up Sean Ervine's medium pace over square leg into the top deck of the Grand Stand.
"I was trying to guess where he would bowl it and double bluff him a bit," he said.
"I was going to hit him straighter and when it came down a slightly different line I had to adjust, so it probably didn't go exactly where I'd planned."
Not that anyone was complaining as the shot brought 6,000 Durham fans to their feet and elevated Coetzer into the consciousness of cricket fans all over the country.
The Scots had known of his ability for some time as he had captained their Under 19s in the World Cup and played for their senior team at various times from 2003-6. But it appears they managed to sour relations with him last season and he is now settled in a Gateshead flat with only Durham on his mind.
Both his parents are South African, but they came to Aberdeen three years before he was born for his dad to work in the oil industry.
A former cricketer and rugby player himself, Coetzer senior used to drive Kyle down to winter nets at Sacriston after he first impressed Geoff Cook when playing for Scotland at junior level against Durham.
"My dad didn't have the best technique, but he was mentally very strong," said Kyle. "When I and my two older brothers played in the same team as him he always showed us up by scoring more runs.
"I had a trial with Durham when I'd finished school, then I spent a winter at the Cape Town Academy then came back and joined the Durham Academy.
"We still have close family in South Africa and I've been back to see them and attend a friend's wedding this winter. But the only cricket I've had was in India.
"Geoff arranged for me to go there for ten days after we chatted at the end of last season and I said I felt I could improve against spin bowling.
"I felt I didn't have as many options as I would like against spinners, especially in one-day cricket. I faced a lot of good spinners in India and I think it's been well worth it.
"Now I just hope I can put it into practice this year. I want to hold on to the No 3 spot and contribute by converting more good starts into hundreds.
"It's a blow losing Ottis, but there are plenty of guys who can step up and do his job, so we should have another good season."
3:02am Tuesday 12th February 2008
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