Andrew Hall: Another 3 millimetres and the bullet would have hit my cheekbone

Hall could stonewall, slog, open bowling, take wickets, contain runs, field brilliantly, and keep wickets: he was a captain's dream.

Born July 31, 1975, Andrew James Hall was the ultimate all-rounder: he opened batting, switching gears with ease between stonewalling and going over the top; down the order he was a brutal hitter of the ball; also an extremely accurate, canny bowler with the old and new ball, Hall was an expert in the death overs, choking up batsmen at the end. An excellent fielder, he has also kept wickets for South Africa, and has even donned the big gloves and bowled in the slog overs in the same match. He announced his retirement suddenly after being treated somewhat harshly, but earned legendary status for Northamptonshire, leading them towards the end of the career. On behalf of CricketCountry, Abhishek Mukherjee interviewed Hall on his career, the art of adaptation, and his escape from death on two occasions.

CricketCountry (CC): From big-hitter down the order to stonewaller at the top, from keeping wickets to choking sides with accurate bowling to taking key wickets, you were the ultimate all-rounder. Did you practise everything from your childhood days?

Andrew Hall (AH): I have always played most positions during my career. I was a wicketkeeper-batsman as an 18-year old; then, in First-Class cricket, a bowling all-rounder. Once I started playing internationally I opened bowling and the batting in both Tests and ODIs. So naturally I practised batting and bowling and fielding. However, I did not practise wicketkeeping a lot until I was required to keep in the ODI against Australia (more on that later).

CC: Did you play other sports in your early days? What prompted you to take up cricket?

AH: As a youngster in SA [South Africa] I played many sports. I played rugby, tennis, squash, golf and cricket, and did athletics. In secondary school I cut that back to rugby, cricket, squash and golf. In my last year at school I had a knee operation and was told that I could not play rugby any more. But by that stage I already knew that I wanted to play cricket.

CC: Who were your earliest heroes of the sport?

AH: In Cricket it was Jimmy Cook, Clive Rice and Ray Jennings.

CC: There is a story that you once missed a match because you promised your girlfriend that you would take her to dance…

AH: In our last year at school we have leaving dinner, and I made arrangements to attend this function. I was picked for a preseason match and spoke to the Director of Cricket to explain my position. To start with he was not impressed but later spoke to me about the fact that he appreciated my honesty as I could have lied to not play. He and I are still great friends and very loyal to each other. That man is Ray Jennings, who coached South Africa and gave me the chance to open in India.

[inline-quotes align=”left”]Another three millimetres and it would have hit my cheekbone, which would have been a far worse situation. Shrapnel tore through a digit on my middle-finger, and I had a piece on my right eye. Further, I had gunpowder burns on my face from them being so close.[/inline-quotes]

CC: By the turn of the millennium you were already opening batting for Gauteng, partnering the likes of Graeme Smith and Adam Bacher at the top. What prompted the transition up the order?

AH: In the past Gauteng had Richard Snell opening batting with success. Once he stopped playing they needed another aggressive opener. As I had good success leading the batting in the seconds I was picked. My coach Mark O’Donnell was the man that brought this plan in.

CC: The incident of being shot at point-blank range has been blown to enormous proportions over years — to the extent that few are aware of the truth. What exactly happened?

AH: It happened in 1999. We just came back from a pre-season match in Durban. When I returned I was picked up at the airport in my new car. I dropped my then girlfriend at home and headed to get some cash to put fuel in the car. I was at an ATM close to my home and once I was finish with my transaction as I turned around I saw two men standing behind me. One lifted his gun and without saying a word fired six rounds at me point blank. They were no more than a metre away from me.

As I saw the gun I reacted by putting my hand up and the first bullet hit me in the hand. I was then hit in the cheek on my way down as I was ducking and the other four missed me completely.
I was taken to hospital and had the bullet removed from my hand and my cheek cleaned out as it had only grazed me. Another three millimetres and it would have hit my cheekbone, which would have been a far worse situation. Shrapnel tore through a digit on my middle-finger, and I had a piece on my right eye. Further, I had gunpowder burns on my face from them being so close.

CC: How did religion help you recover from the incident?

AH: I have always been religious and it helped me to forgive them and focus on the good work that I needed to do.

CC: Three years after this you were held at gunpoint again in your own car. What was the incident this time?

AH: I was selling my car and was asked to meet guys wanting to by my car. I did want people to come to my home so I arranged to meet them at a near shopping mall. Once there they looked at the vehicle and asked if they could take it for a test drive. I declined and one of the men drew a gun and pushed me into the passenger side.

He then got in behind me and put the gun to my head. His friend then drove around Johannesburg for 40 minutes waiting to see if I had a tracking system on the car. All the time his friend was threatening me that I would die if I lied to them. Once they were satisfied that there was no tracking they dropped me off in Soweto and told me someone was watching me, and that if I move for the next hour they will shoot me. Needless to say once they were out of sight I was up and running to the closest gas station to phone the police.

CC: Hansie Cronje was your first international captain — just before the match-fixing allegations came out. How hard did it hit South African cricket, and you as a person? What was the biggest task Shaun Pollock had in his hand?

AH: It was a big hit for all South Africa, as Hansie was a poster boy for sport in the country. As a sport it was a sad day as Hansie was a great captain and it showed us how aware we should be as cricketers. Shaun had to get the support of the country back as they had lost all faith in the national team.

CC: The Telstra Dome match of 2000 classic example of your all-round skills: you opened batting, kept wickets, and took the gloves off to bowl the penultimate over before keeping wickets in the last. How does a cricketer switch roles so frequently and still be able to concentrate?

AH: It does become second nature once you play more cricket as you can play a Test followed by an ODI and we do practise to switch from disciplines quickly. But that was a big change and it hasn’t happened anywhere since.

CC: You made your Test debut after South Africa were routed by Australia in the previous Test. You put up a tremendous show, coming out at 92 for 6 and top-scoring with 70. What was it like, facing the best attack in the world on debut? What was going through your mind when you stepped out and batted along?

AH: Again I felt that I was prepared because Ray Jennings and I spent a lot of time preparing to face their bowling. So once I was at the crease my brain switched into batting mode and I just played every ball on merit.

CC: The World Cup 2003 match against Sri Lanka: what exactly was going on in the dressing-room in those dying stages with Lance Klusener and Mark Boucher out there?

AH: It was chaos as you would expect. I was next in to bat and we were trying to get a message out to the batsman that the scoreboard’s D/L score is for a tie and we needed one more run.

But every time Nicky Boje tried to run on the field Steve Bucknor was chasing him off saying that he was not allowed on. So in the end we were shouting at Nicky to just run on and ignore the umpire, but he could not hear us and the rain was starting; and as you know Mark Boucher blocked out the last ball for the tie not knowing that we needed one more run.

CC: The England tour of 2003 was a transitional one, and you played a stellar role, especially with the ball, though you almost never got to open bowling. How does a swing bowler go about it, coming as first- or second-change?

AH: The good thing with being a change bowler for South Africa is the fact that our openers always hit the seam, so the ball is in great shape when you get to bowl with it. You do get swing, so from the start you have to assess the amount of swing and also the length you want to bowl. Once you have those sorted it’s about hitting your line and length all day long and you have to be patient.

[inline-quotes align=”left”]Milestones are big for all players as you get assessed by them when you retire. We all want milestones against our names.[/inline-quotes]

CC: You were also stranded on 99 that tour at Headingley. Did you feel a sense of desperation as the milestone approached? How did it feel when Dewald Pretorius got out?

AH: No, I was very relaxed, but I knew that I would have to shepherd the strike as best I can. I was hitting the ball well and the only time I was worried was the last ball as I knew I wanted two and Dewald sent me back. I would have been run out, so I knew that leaving him with two balls in the over was maybe a bit much. The next ball he got out and it was a sad moment as I knew I batted well and deserved a 100.

Once we were walking back and Dewald apologised at least thrice; I knew we had to start thinking about winning the game so I just said that he should get me a five-for, and that will do it.

CC: Indeed, how important are such milestones to a player?

AH: Milestones are big for all players as you get assessed by them when you retire. We all want milestones against our names.

CC: The hundred finally came at Kanpur. You had never batted above No. 6 in Test cricket before that, and yet you were pushed up the order after Herschelle Gibbs had pulled out. In fact, they had tried out Graeme Smith, Jacques Rudolph, and Zander de Bruyn in the practice match. It was a tremendous innings, where you seemed to bat on and on, curbing your natural game, perhaps under instructions, scoring 163. How does a batsman concentrate for so long, especially after adapting to a new position?

AH: It was a change in my batting as I learned how to be very patient and wait for a ball top score from. I knew that our plan was to bat to at least lunch on Day Two, and we needed someone to play a long innings.

Once I got in I thought back to something that Gary Kirsten told me on my first tour: he said that once you get in you don’t throw it away in the subcontinent. So I just knuckled down and played patiently as the bowlers allowed me.

Once again it was Ray Jennings who spoke to me to open the batting as I have done it in ODI he felt that I had the technique to do it in Tests.

CC: Take us through that last over against Sri Lanka in 2006. With Sri Lanka requiring 11, you bowled a maiden over consisting of mostly good-length balls. You had earlier done something similar for Worcestershire against Lancashire. How do you think a bowler should approach the death-overs? Is the battle at the end more about psychology than ability?

AH: Firstly it is very much as case of both. You need to have the confidence that you will hit your length but also have the strength of mind to not worry about the outcome.

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In that game I was bowling to the tail and we felt that it was easier for batters when we bowled yorkers. Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher and I decided that good length will be more effective. I was happy with the plan, and once we decided it was just about focusing your mind on the job at hand.

The trick lies in keeping your mind clear and thinking of only the process you go through before you bowl. I never thought of the outcome. All I thought of was the line and length I had to hit; if I hit that I had done my job.

CC: Your retirement was abrupt. Graham Ford said it was probably because you were left out of the World T20 squad of 2007. Did you feel you had a few more years left at the highest level?

AH: Yes. I definitely had a lot of cricket still left in me.

I was originally picked in the South Africa team for World T20. I was asked to return to South Africa from County duty to prepare for the tournament. Once I was home I was told that the team had been vetoed by the President, and Jacques Kallis and I have been dropped.

They said I cannot go back to England, as I had to go to Zimbabwe for an A tour. Once on tour I spoke to Mickey Arthur, the then coach; he told me that I will be given a good run, given that Shaun Pollock had retired.

The problem was that they had said the same thing to four other players. When I confronted them with it they said that I was the nucleus of the ODI bowling attack, but they were looking around for Tests.

Then I got an opportunity with the ICL, and never looked back.

CC: You had considered migrating to Australia. What prompted you to change the decision?

AH: I did consider Australia after I was shot in 1999. I had a contract in Australia but in the end decided to stay and later that year made my debut for South Africa.

CC: Despite rendering yeoman services, you were hardly given a proper run in Test cricket. Do you think you deserved a longer run at the top?

AH: I definitely felt I should have been given a more consistent run. It is difficult to find rhythm when you play one game, miss two, and play again. Every time I came in to cover for someone I did perform, but as soon as that player was ready again I was dropped.

CC: You have faced quality bowlers over years, both in domestic cricket and overseas, in various conditions. Who do you think was the toughest to handle?

AH: Glen McGrath was the most difficult. He made batsmen uncomfortable. Brett Lee, for his pace and accuracy, and Muttiah Muralitharan, for his spin, were difficult to play as well.

CC: You were an avid biker. Your obsession for your Harley-Davidson is well-known. Is that love still there?

AH: Yes. Even though I don’t own one now I still have that love for Harleys, and I will look to own one again in the future. The freedom you feel while out on a ride is amazing.

CC: You had led before, but not in First-Class cricket before taking on Northamptonshire captaincy in 2009. What was leading a side like for the first time?

AH: I was captain for Eastern Provinces for years and Chandigarh Lions in ICL. So when I captained Northants I felt very comfortable. I knew that I had the backing of the players, for I have always believed in leading from the front.

CC: Tell us more about HEAR.

AH: HEAR is a charity started by Fanie de Villiers and friends of his to help parents who have kids needing cochlear implants. I was part of a fundraising drive where Fanie and I drove a tractor from Cape Town to Pretoria. It was a three-week trip where we would stop at a town every day and help local schools with cricket, and they would have a day planned to help us raise as much money as possible.

CC: You are a Level 3 Qualified ECB Coach. Is that your career plan?

AH: I want to coach internationally. I am working towards that. I want to get into coaching a First-class team again soon and work my way up.

(Abhishek Mukherjee is the Chief Editor at CricketCountry and CricLife. He blogs here and can be followed on Twitter here.)

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