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- Proteas opener Sarel Erwee was close to quitting cricket 28 months ago, but a strong support structure and dealing with mental health issues helped him.
- Erwee scored a maiden Test ton on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday.
- Mental health came into the spotlight in South Africa this week after hip hop artist Rikhado 'Riky Rick' Makhado died by suicide.
Proteas opener Sarel Erwee may have made a maiden Test ton on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday, but he spoke afterwards about just how difficult that journey to the top had been.
The 32-year-old from Pietermaritzburg explained in the post-day press conference how he nearly quit the game just over two years ago, citing the unrelenting slog of South African first-class cricket as a factor that gradually demotivated him.
Erwee made his first-class debut for KwaZulu-Natal Coastal in 2008. Fourteen years and 96 first-class games later, he made his Test debut and, on Friday, went a long way in cementing his spot with a century.
SCORECARD | New Zealand v South Africa, Second Test, Day One
In his maiden first-class game, Erwee played alongside Khaya Zondo and Keshav Maharaj, who achieved bigger things at an earlier stage.
Erwee said the support from his parents and the openness in dealing with the mental health issues that afflicted him have helped steer his path towards the light.
"About 28 months ago, the thought of quitting crossed my mind and I was a phone call away from doing so," Erwee said.
"I received huge support when I sat down with my family and my parents picked me up. They helped me see a sports psychologist and we worked through that rough spot daily.
"It was a hard slog to try and get motivated again and to give my best after wanting to give up. The slogging at the lower levels felt worthless and pointless at some stage.
"I was very fortunate to have worked with a sports performance psychologist and my parents' support at the time was incredible.
"It's been my motivating factor."
Erwee, who has been in and around the Proteas Test squad for the past 18 months due to his heavy run-scoring for the Dolphins, said it was important for men to speak out and attend to mental health matters.
Stigma with regards to men and mental health in South Africa has been a long-standing problem, but a matter that received particular attention this week in light of the passing away of South African hip-hop artist Rikhado Muziwendlovu Makhado, better known as 'Riky Rick'.
"I don't think we focus enough on mental health in South African sport and cricket," Erwee said.
"Having spoken to other people in sports, I think it's something that's lacking, even among men. I guess it's frowned upon to talk about it as men or when you show mental weakness.
"There's a lot of work that still needs to be done and I'm in that process every day where I'm trying to better my health and well-being.
"It's a big part of my life and probably will be for a long time."
