Kyle Verreynne's mission to make the difficult doable

Kyle Verreynne told Cricbuzz about his shifting football loyalties: "I was [a Manchester United fan], but since the start of my time in Nottingham, people have slowly converted me to a Forest man. I'm sort of inbetween the two at the moment."

Verreynne earned the nickname "Scholesy" early in his first-class career due to his resemblance to former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes—both are red-headed. The name was given to him by coach Ashwell Prince and captain Dane Piedt during his first tour with the Cobras in September 2017.

Verreynne's certainty on the field is striking. In the WTC final against Australia at Lord's in June, with one run needed, he attempted to ramp Mitchell Starc. He gloved the ball to Alex Carey but survived because Australia had no referrals left. Two deliveries later, he drove Starc through the covers to secure South Africa's first ICC trophy in over 26 years.

That same unshakeable certainty was evident at Trent Bridge in September, when Verreynne hammered Warwickshire's Nathan Gilchrist for six to secure the batting bonus point that made Nottinghamshire county champions for the first time since 2010.

In his first campaign with Notts, Verreynne played a crucial role in saving them from relegation. Against Warwickshire at Trent Bridge, he batted through six partnerships, adding 305 runs after the team had slumped to 182 for 4. His unbeaten 148 in over five hours at the crease forced a draw and secured First Division status.

Verreynne sees himself as a player for big moments: "I'd like to think so. It doesn't always work out like that, but it's definitely something that I've been quite good at doing. You can't plan for things like that. No matter how good a player you are you've got to be in the right place at the right time. So it can't be a conscious thing. It must just kind of happen."

He credits coach Ashwell Prince for instilling a mindset of seeking pressure situations: "A big message from Ashy P through my teenage years and growing into my professional career was to seek out those moments. He explains it perfectly – when you want a situation not to happen or don't want to be put in a situation, you land up in that situation. So instead of wanting things to not happen, try and be the guy who always wants to be there."

Verreynne has scored four centuries in 45 Test innings, all of them consequential, though his top score in his last eight innings is an unbeaten 42 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in June.

South Africa's squad for the series against India includes Verreynne and Ryan Rickelton. Coach Shukri Conrad emphasized Verreynne's value: "When you're faced with conditions like these you want your best gloveman because you've got quality spinners. Chances get created all the time and Scholesy was excellent with the gloves in Pakistan. If you're going on batting form it wasn't that long ago that he was scoring hundreds for us."

Conrad had dropped Verreynne in favor of Heinrich Klaasen for a home Test series in March 2023, a decision that surprised Verreynne at the time. Reflecting on it, he said: "I was taken aback. I didn't think it was going to happen. But within half-an-hour I was going through the numbers. While I was one of our top two or three batters the numbers weren't great. I think I was averaging 27 or something [28.60, in fact], which meant I was doing better than most. But then you have an honest look and you say 27 at Test level is not good enough, whether that makes you the best in the team or not. As much as I didn't expect to be dropped I completely understand why I was dropped."

Since his return, Verreynne has played 15 Tests and has built a strong relationship with Conrad: "We've got a good relationship now. He's very straight and to the point. You're not going to agree with coaches all the time, but I've always appreciated his honesty. And his willingness to allow guys to be who they are. So I break my career into two halves. In the first half I felt there was a specific style of play that I needed to conform to; a technical way I was expected to bat. After Shukri recalled me, I've been allowed to play my way. He trusts me to do what I do. He says, 'If you score runs and take your catches, I don't really care how you do it.'"

In the Lahore Test against Pakistan, Verreynne conceded no byes in 156.5 overs—more than 80% of them bowled by spinners—on a difficult pitch, while Mohammad Rizwan conceded eight.

Verreynne started keeping wicket as a child because he was bored in the field: "When I was probably under 10 I was opening the batting and the bowling. Parents want their kids to get an equal opportunity, so the coach told me I couldn't do that. We needed to give other guys a chance. I asked if I could I open the batting and try keeping? Because if I was just in the field I was going to be so bored. The coach said, 'Well, no-one wants to keep. So that's fine.'"

He enjoys the challenge of keeping in different conditions: "Some guys, if I had to keep to them in Australia or South Africa, it would be a breeze. You could almost do the job with your eyes closed. But give them a Duke ball in English conditions and it's a nightmare. Keeping to someone like Shammo [Tabraiz Shamsi] in Australia would maybe be quite easy because you wouldn't expect a lot of turn. Even though he has a lot of variations there shouldn't be too much deviation. But then keep to them in Pakistan or India or some grounds in South Africa, where you've got to be able to pick up all their variations and it's turning sharply. That becomes a real challenge."

On batting, Verreynne sees himself as a mental problem-solver: "I see myself as someone who's not great technically, but more of a mental problem-solver. Someone who tries to figure out ways to go about things in different conditions. I don't think there's any style of pitch that I'd say I prefer batting on. There's a few that I don't. I mean, batting in the UK is impossible…"

This from a player who has scored 748 runs, with two centuries, at 46.75 in 20 first-class innings for Nottinghamshire—saving them from relegation and sealing their championship a year later, and hitting the winning runs in the WTC final at Lord's.