Lizaad Williams' journey from dealing with gangsterism to making it to South Africa's squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

Lizaad Williams replaced Anrich Nortje in South Africa's squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

South African pace bowler Anrich Nortje got ruled out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 due to a lower back injury. Lizaad Williamson came in as Nortje’s replacement into the Proteas squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. The 29-year-old has played one ODI game for South Africa in his career but he has got opportunities in the T20I format. Williams will be joining the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen in the camp. 

Lizaad Williams' turbulent life

Lizaad Williams has seen much turbulence in his personal life that is now shifting towards a positive path. Born to a single mother, losing his brother to gangsterism, and becoming a father at just 16 years of age, Williams has seen all these things through his journey from gangsterism to a normal human being. Williams will now be bowling to the world’s fierce batters like Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Jos Buttler and David Warner and he takes it as a privilege. 

Coming from a different background, Lizaad Williams has credited two major things in changing his life. Williams said, “The way my life was going, that was probably the one thing that saved me. I was just 16 years old. That was a life-changer for me. I am a firm believer that you have to live something bigger than yourself.” Williams became a father at just 16 years of age and made a huge shift in his life and career. 

Life-changing events for Lizaad

He also credited his mother for looking after him and his daughter, the second thing he mentioned was his acceptance into the University of Western Cape. Williams graduated from UWC and then he got a rookie contract from Cape Cobras to set off his cricket career. Williams explained his troubled journey to a South African new portal and all the trouble he had faced coming from a troubled background. 

Lizaad Williams said, “Coming from the West Coast we had only a few options if you don’t complete your matric. Either you become a fisherman or you work in a fish factory… We also have socio-economic struggles like other communities, gangsterism, and crime. That type of thing, my brother was involved in gangsterism and he passed away in 2018, it is easy to get caught up in your circumstances.” 

Lizaad Williams made his debut for South Africa in April 2021 against Pakistan at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Lizaad has played 9 T20I games, 2 test matches, and only one ODI game before entering into the South African World Cup squad. South Africa will be playing their opening World Cup fixture against Sri Lanka at Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in Delhi on 7th October.