There are string of cricketers playing in the ongoing Mzanis Super League who were club cricket starts before they made it to franchise level. Here are five of them.
Kyle Verreynne
The talented wicketkeeper-batsman was schooled at Wynberg Boys’ High School – the same institution that developed the legendary Jacques Kallis – before starting a club career with Cape Town Cricket Club. There, he was key to one of their National Club Championship campaigns in Pretoria. He has since gone onto play for Western Province and the Cape Cobras – and most recently for the Paarl Rocks. He was also part of the Cape Town Blitz squad in the first ever Mzansi Super League last year. He is a real gem – and Rocks and Proteas captain Faf du Plessis has effectively tipped him for bigger things.
George Linde
The Blitz – with Betway emblazoned on their shirt sleeves – currently have the talented left-arm spinner, who can also bat, so weighs in as a pretty decent all-rounder. He recently debuted for the Proteas during a doomed tour of India, where the tourists lost all three Tests. Before that, he played a lot for Durbanville Cricket Club and eventually moved to Brackenfell Cricket Club, who currently have England first-class cricketer Chris Dent playing for them as well. Linde has been among the Mzansi Super League highlights, even if the Blitz’s campaign in 2019 has not quite gone according to plan.
Janneman Malan
Malan is also with the Blitz. He is a hard-hitting opening batsman who has already played some T20I cricket for the Proteas. He is among the favourites to open the batting alongside Quinton de Kock during next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. The ongoing MSL has seen him crash many balls into the Betway advertising hoardings with that brute force and excellent timing of his. There is a lot more to come from this bright, young talent, who hails from Durbanville Cricket Club as well.
Tabraiz Shamsi
Infamous for his peculiar celebrations when taking a wicket, including the use of a so-called wand and telephone-like shoe theatrics, Shamsi is a good spin bowler. His left-arm wrist-spin isn’t really common across the country and, indeed, the world. It gives him the sort of X-factor a lot of selectors seek when putting together a squad and team. His playing career was boosted by success with Kempton Park Cricket Club initially – and he has since gone onto greater heights, which include stints in the Caribbean Premier League and Indian Premier League.
Ferisco AdamsĀ
Adams is with the Paarl Rocks, who are going to host the 2019 Mzansi Super League final, who have a key sponsor in Betway, at Boland Park on 16 December. They will play the Tshwane Spartans or the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants, depending how things shape up over the next couple of days. Adams is a good lower-order hitter and loves bowling at the death of the innings, both for Robertson Cricket Club and for the Paarl franchise. He is also a firebrand fielder and pull off some impressive stints in the inner ring and as a boundary rider.