The Transformation of Sune Luus

Sune Luus wasn't the only notable player that South Africa lost during their 2022 tour of England. While Lizelle Lee’s abrupt retirement, as South Africa’s top opener, made headlines, Luus quietly exited from the leg-spinning spotlight with little fanfare.

Luus’ Quiet Departure from Bowling

It wasn’t until South Africa played three T20I matches in preparation for a home World Cup that fans noticed Luus’ absence from the bowling lineup. For her, this was the result of a gradual process—one that eventually led her to lose complete connection with her craft.

She mentioned that leg-spin requires confidence, and once it's gone, regaining it becomes extremely challenging. Luus admitted that she was struggling with this loss of confidence, and ultimately, she no longer enjoyed it as much as she once did. She explained that it was a difficult decision, but necessary for her to step back from bowling and focus on what reignited her excitement for cricket.

Falling out of love with something rarely happens overnight. It’s often a gradual process fueled by multiple factors. 

In preparation for the slow Caribbean pitches in the 2018 T20 World Cup, Luus was promoted to South Africa's middle-order due to her batting prowess. This role, designed to tackle spin, became a norm for her across all formats. In 2019, she added to her responsibilities by standing in as captain when Dane van Niekerk faced injuries. This led to a reduction in her bowling duties over the next few years.

Between the England tour of 2022 and the 2023 World Cup, where she was named permanent captain, Luus bowled a mere six overs across two innings in 10 games, taking only one wicket. This lack of confidence stemmed from multiple technical changes imposed on her by different coaches, leading to a point where she couldn't recover her legspinning touch.

Rediscovering Joy in Batting

Luus revealed that she couldn't pinpoint when her struggles began but acknowledged that once she lost her form, it was nearly impossible to recover. Coaches were trying to tweak her action, but in the process, she lost the uniqueness of her legspin. As a result, her confidence, both in cricket and personally, took a significant hit, and bowling no longer brought her the same joy.

To extend her career and find enjoyment in cricket again, Luus made the tough decision to put her legspin on hold. She wanted to focus on what she loved—batting and fielding. She believed she could still contribute to the game without being a leg-spinner, and this realisation played a significant role in her decision. She highlighted the importance of mental health, stating that it’s crucial for athletes to take care of themselves.

In the middle-order, where South Africa had long struggled against spin, Luus found liberation in her batting. She relished her promotion up the order, admitting she had never been content batting at No. 7, 8, or 9. When the chance to bat higher arrived, she seized it, aiming to make the top-order spot hers. Although she fluctuated between different positions, her love for batting endured. Even when the outcomes weren't always perfect, she enjoyed taking the opportunity to swing the bat and put runs on the board.

After stepping down from the captaincy following the World Cup heartbreak, partially due to dissatisfaction with the management, Luus had a strong batting performance in a home series against New Zealand. She smashed 81 runs in two games with a strike rate of 153.26, though her form dipped before and after this series. In the eight innings surrounding those matches, she failed to reach 30.

Without bowling stats to fall back on, Luus found herself being rotated out as South Africa tried other batting options in their series against India. However, just as her place on the team was being questioned, she launched a third phase in her international career. 

The Off-spin Evolution

In a bold move, South Africa brought in a raw off-spinner during an ODI in India to try and stop Smriti Mandhana, who was chasing back-to-back centuries. Luus expressed her longing to contribute in all aspects of the game. Although she didn’t want to return as a legspinner, she considered how she could help the team. Without a dedicated off-spinner, she thought, “How hard could it be?” But she quickly realised it was more challenging than expected.

Her first attempt, bowling to Mandhana, was far from ideal, but she wasn’t discouraged. After chatting with new head coach Dillon du Preez, Luus began experimenting with off-spin in the nets. She jokingly told du Preez to give her honest feedback: if she showed potential, they'd work on it; if not, she’d stop.

Thankfully, du Preez saw promise, and they began refining her offspin. Though the initial intention wasn’t to bowl in India, circumstances led her to roll her arm over for a few overs.

The transformation gained real momentum when former South African wrist-spinner Paul Adams joined as the High-Performance bowling coach. Adams helped Luus understand the intricacies of offspin, from body positioning to strategic execution, and Luus noted the vast improvement under his guidance.

Drawing inspiration from fellow players who reinvented their bowling techniques later in their careers, such as Chloe Tryon and Suzie Bates, Luus found the transition exciting. She saw the value in mastering a new skill and hoped to become a versatile bowler, capable of switching between leg-spin and off-spin based on the situation.

As her confidence grew, Luus felt ready to debut her off-spin during South Africa's World Cup preparatory series in Pakistan. She played in all three T20Is, earning Player of the Series honours—largely for her batting, but also for her tight 4-0-18-1 spell in the series decider. Though her off-spin is still a work in progress, it has added a valuable dimension to the team’s World Cup preparations.

Reflecting on her return, Luus said she was glad to prove herself in Pakistan and remind selectors of her capabilities. Despite the challenges of rotation, Luus worked hard to contribute whenever given the chance. 

Passing the legspinning torch to up-and-coming talent Seshnie Naidu, Luus has evolved from leg-spinner to specialist batter to offspinning all-rounder—offering South Africa a versatile weapon as she enters this new chapter of her cricketing journey.