Fortuin avoids putting himself in a spin over World Cup prospects

It’s probably not something most coaches would advise but it has worked for Bjorn Fortuin. 

“A big aspect that has helped improve my bowling, is not actually bowling,” said Fortuin.

If that sounds as if Fortuin is sitting on his rear end all day, that would be the wrong impression. He looks and listens; to his coach, his teammates, fellow spinners, his wife — the latter regarding decisions about a new pet to replace the kitten that sadly died recently.

“The missus has been making plans. I’m not fully on board with that yet,” he said about the latter. 

As for bowling, he’s taken tips from Keshav Maharaj, Aaron Phangiso — which include wicket celebrations — and Paul Adams, to name a few. “(Adams) may be a wrist spinner, but the way he thinks about spin bowling could be applicable to what you do.”

Fortuin has emerged from the seemingly endless well of left-arm finger spinners produced in South Africa recently — and put himself at the front of the queue for World Cup selection.

He doesn’t want to think about that tournament, but as one of just three front-line spinners among the national contracted players — Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi being the others — Fortuin is certainly in the reckoning.

“I wasn’t expecting to get a national contract. When I got the call it was a bit confusing, to be honest. I’m pretty glad with the outcome, but I’m not looking at the contract as if it is some sort of end goal, I see it as a step in the right direction, but there is plenty of work to be built on that.”

Being contracted was a surprise to others too, because Fortuin hasn’t been a consistent part of the Proteas team. Since making his international debut in 2019 — against India in Mohali — he’s played just 20 matches: five ODIs and 15 T20s. 

“It was frustrating in the beginning, there were times when you felt you were part of the set-up but you couldn’t be further away from the team. I was quite young, I was a bit hot-headed. There are quite a few challenges to playing international cricket — and not playing consistently is one of them.”

However, the proliferation of limited overs tournaments in the next few years means Fortuin is likely to get many more opportunities. By his own admission, the wickets he takes aren’t visually spectacular — a “pitched leg stump hit the top of off” spinner he is not.

It’s where watching Phangiso has played a role. “I spent five to six years with him. He’s a streetwise character, he thinks on his feet, he’s very similar to me. We might not get a hell of a lot of turns out of a pitch, or trouble batters in the traditional way, but watching him try to find a way on the day has been instrumental to the way I bowl.”

That was just me not taking things too seriously, not taking enough pride in my performances

—  Fortuin

Fortuin has used that simplified methodology — mixing up pace, flight and angle to become an instrumental member of the DP World (Central Gauteng) Lions side, helping them to win the domestic 50-overs competition in each of the last two seasons.

In the SA20, he took the second most wickets for a spinner behind Roelof van der Merwe, with his ability to bowl with the new ball in the power play an extremely important part of his team’s strategy. 

It took the forthright approach of Enoch Nkwe, when he was appointed Lions coach in 2018, to set the 28-year-old Fortuin on the path to national recognition. “I would always do well enough to get a contract with the Lions and keep my place with the team, but I was never really one of the first names on the team sheet, or a mainstay in the squad,” he said.

“That was just me not taking things too seriously, not taking enough pride in my performances. When he (Nkwe) took over, there was a no-nonsense approach, you were either on the bus or off it.

“That was a shock to my system, because I’d not experienced that kind of thing up to that point. It was a conscious decision to stop mucking about, otherwise the bus would leave me behind.”

Nkwe made it clear to Fortuin that playing at his best was the only standard that would be allowed. The presence of Proteas players in that Lions team, like Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada and Dwaine Pretorius, accelerated the shift in mindset for Fortuin. “Automatically that made you want to be better, you fed off the quality around you. The way (Nkwe) wanted to play was brave and quite ‘out there’.”

It’s similar to the way that Proteas limited overs coach Rob Walter wants to play, allowing Fortuin to adapt quickly to what’s been required since his appointment. “I’ve really enjoyed my cricket in the last two years,” he says. 

So what about the World Cup then? “There are still performances that need to be put in, so that those sorts of questions can be answered, but it does feel good to know that you are part of the group going forward. It’s really about taking one step at a time, looking too far ahead could have negative consequences for my game.”