BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Lizaad Williams keeps a cool head and finds “ice in his veins” in both sport and academia

By Fatima Ahmed | Photography: ASEM Engage/Varsity Sports, UWC Media

The assumption is always one of handsome remuneration when it comes to the careers of professional athletes. However, a career can last only as long as the player can perform. And that is exactly what drove the newlycapped Proteas’ fast bowler and University of the Western Cape (UWC) alumnus Lizaad Williams – as a university graduate and now international cricketer.

There have been many examples of long, illustrious careers but even more of shortlived ones. With sport, there really aren’t any certainties. What happens after the career of a pro athlete is over? Perhaps they’ve made enough to live comfortably post-retirement? What if injury cuts their careers short before they’ve had the chance to carve a living for themselves?

Lizzy, the nickname Lizaad is affectionately known by among teammates, has his head screwed on straight. He is adamant on building a legacy based on a good education, allowing for any eventuality by backing his cricketing skills with the tools that enable him to open other doors and begin a new innings in this Test match we call life.

He says his mom, Lizette Williams, as a single parent, found that raising three boys in Vredenburg on the West Coast was challenging. She did a great job because during the interview, the somewhat shy Lizzy’s humility shines through, no doubt attributed to how he was brought up. During a virtual interview while on tour with the Proteas in Ireland on the morning after his dream One-Day International debut – taking a wicket off his first ball – I found a grateful soul with a first-hand understanding of what it means to make sacrifices.

Lizzy says his experiences in high school taught him the importance of education, and made him challenge himself to strive to be better and to excel at the highest level possible in academia and, of course, life.

Having a mother that ensured she drilled these values into him allowed Lizzy to follow this plan

and sparked his own drive and ambition to better himself and lay a solid foundation for his future. (It must be noted that he had a wry smile on his face during the interview. Was it all work and no play during this difficult journey?)

Lizzy graduated from UWC in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. However, he insists this isn’t where his academic career and love affair with UWC ends. He is intent on enrolling for a postgraduate qualification later for further options after cricket and to satisfy his never-faltering hunger for knowledge.

“It’s important, whilst I’m still young, to educate myself and never be satisfied with where I am in my life,” he says.

But why cricket when he was a star rugby player as well? Lizzy, in fact, played rugby in his youth and was selected for both the South Africa u19 as well as the Craven Week u18 teams. He was left with a quandary.

“The choice was tough”, says the 27-year-old, “but it paid off in the end.”

Lizzy credits a very special programme (read more on page 46) at UWC, run by cricket and rugby chairperson Advocate Nic Kok and that has been in operation since the 2000s, for playing a major role in his success so far. He speaks fondly of UWC Sport’s Sports Skills 4 Life Skills (SS4LS) programme, which offers opportunities to students from underprivileged backgrounds – a kind of “kitbag” with all the equipment to build a successful future. It sets out to instill a set of characteristics in students through sport that affords them the skills needed to succeed in life. It provides support from tutors and follow-up on students’ academic progress. Lizzy says SS4LS went above and beyond to ensure he graduated.

Making his domestic List-A debut in 2011, having just matriculated from high school, Lizzy found himself juggling priorities between cricket and his studies. This often meant missing many morning lectures due to his training commitments. But his steely determination ensured he would find a way.

Hailing from a small town where opportunities are far and few between, Lizzy understands how important his success is to the people back home.

“There aren’t many heroes around us. We don’t believe in many possibilities in life. If I manage to influence just one or two kids... just to show them it is possible to achieve your dreams if you put your mind to it.”

Lizzy carries with him a core set of values that he holds dear, most notably the importance of leadership and being the type to lead from the front.

Current Proteas’ physio and UWC alumnus, Craig Govender, fondly recalls working with Lizzy at UWC. “He wears his town on his sleeve! He’s the kind of guy that when he steps over the white line, that’s his place.”

After a tough eight years in Cape Town, where plans didn’t always pan out, a leap of faith took Lizzy to Pretoria. He gave himself an ultimatum to play for the Proteas in 18 months. It was do-or-die at that point. The plan was originally to retire or move to the United States where there were opportunities for professional cricketers, but he is in that tiny percent of those who make it to the national team.

“My determination and resilience were the two things that kept me going. It was tough at the start but I just kept reminding myself why I was doing this.”

Lizzy had a very creative way of celebrating his maiden ODI wicket against Ireland. He went on to explain that he is a fan of the NBA and his favourite player, Trae Young, has a unique way of celebrating his dunks that he chose to emulate. The gesture is a cheeky way of brushing one’s arms to signal “ice in his veins”, or keeping cool under pressure.

Keeping future-fit is as important to Lizzy as keeping match fit, which is why he plans to continue with his studies to ensure he has options once he leaves cricket behind. “I can’t let cricket define me as a human being. It’s so important to have something outside of cricket for after cricket,” he says.

Taking on an international cricket career and studying requires ultimate balance and Lizzy certainly has the “ice in his veins” to do so.