Prison job did the trick for Langeveldt<br/>

Kolkata Knight Riders' South African pace bowler Langeveldt's stint as a warder in Drakenstein prison has helped him cope with life's pressures

Prison job did the trick for Langeveldt<br/>

Kolkata Knight Riders' South African pace bowler Langeveldt's stint as a warder in Drakenstein prison has helped him cope with life's pressures

The uneasy atmosphere in the Kolkata Knight Riders camp is so conspicuous. Everyone, from the players to the coaching staff are feeling the heat following their shocking performance in the 2009 DLF Indian Premier League.

Such pressure can get to the most seasoned of professionals. But, Charl Kenneth Langeveldt is the odd one out in KKR's pressure cooker set-up. The pace bowler is at ease with himself and the situation. It's not difficult to understand why. Even during his international career days with the South African team, he was known to be their iceman under pressure.

Langeveldt attributes his calmness to his experiences as a warder in South Africa's dreaded Drakenstein prison.

For much of the early part of his career, Langeveldt combined first-class cricket with his job at the prison.

"In terms of becoming mentally tough, it is the best job to have," Langeveldt told MiD DAY referring to his time at Drakenstein, a 50-minute drive from his home in Cape Town. "It is one of South Africa's hardest prisons.

That is from where Nelson Mandela was released at the end of his prison term.

"Working in South African prisons is not easy, but it also offered me a job opportunity while I could play cricket.
I used to work in the night and train in the day," said Langeveldt who figured in 59 ODIs, which included the 2003 and 2007 World Cups apart from six Tests.

"In SA, prisons are quite rough and you need to be mentally strong, so it helped me in my cricket. Working under pressure is similar to playing under pressure."

"It is hard work though and it is not the job I would want to do again. Crime-rate is quite high in SA and most of the prisons are overpopulated."

Talking about the toughest part of his job as a warder, Langeveldt said: "Most of the time we were under-staffed. There would be 500 prisoners doing their exercises and you'd have to walk around in the courtyard with 10 guards and two dogs."

The former SA bowler said that most of the convicts were rapists and murderers. "There were moments I enjoyed as well. I did a lot of cricket coaching and played soccer with them."

Mental toughness
The prison experience motivated Langeveldt to do well in cricket. "It taught me to be mentally tough because you can't show the prisoner that you are scared. You have to be brave. When a fight breaks out, you have to get in between the convicts.

"It also encouraged me to work harder than the other players at my game. I didn't want to go back and work in the prison. Cricket is an easy life and it is a full-time job for me now. I would rather be playing cricket than working in the prison."

So would you thrash the prisoners? "Sometimes you needed to be tough on them. Sometimes you beat them up just to discipline them. You need to have a good balance. They should never know whether you are friendly or strict. You have to keep them guessing."

Langeveldt gets invited to Drakenstein for functions. "They have got a juvenile section. I go there and speak to people, motivate them and help them in coaching etc."

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