Transformation spotlight puts Nqabayomzi Peter in Proteas pickle
Nqabayomzi Peter will have to do a lot of heavy lifting for Cricket South Africa to save some face when it comes to their development programmes.
Leg spinner Nqabayomzi Peter will have to do a lot of heavy lifting for Cricket South Africa to save some face when it comes to their development programmes.
Peter has been fast-tracked into the Proteas setup for their T20I series against the West Indies just as CSA fields criticism over its failure to produce sufficient numbers of black internationals.
Nqabayomzi Peter in Proteas pickle
His place in the team was secured thanks to a string of strong performances for the Lions in the CSA T20 Challenge.
Peter was one of the standouts as the Lions won the provincial T20 competition but he has played just 15 T20 matches at domestic level and will now be thrust into the international limelight.
The product of George Randall High School in East London is one of three spinners in the Proteas squad but even with experienced campaigners Tabraiz Shamsi and Imaad Fortuin in the group, he is expected to play some part in the series which will be played entirely at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
It was not long ago that Peter was an unheralded net bowler drafted in to help the Proteas prepare for an ODI against the West Indies last March.
His performance in that net session helped pave the way for opportunities with the Paarl Rocks in the SA20 and later a move to the Lions.
He has done particularly well to stand out as a wicket-taking bowler fulfilling a role for the Lions similar to the job that Shamsi does for the Proteas.
Our own Adam Zampa?
His action and stature puts one in mind of Australian white-ball star Adam Zampa although he generates a little more turn than the Aussie flight master.
He has the ability to take the ball away from both left and right-handers making him a great wicket-taking threat at any time in the innings.
There is every reason for cricket fans to be excited by the prospect of what Peter can achieve in the international game given what he has shown in such a short time.
His greatest challenge will be blocking out the external noise that will nag at him as a Proteas player.
The spotlight on transformation will raise questions about whether or not he has been pushed into the international sphere too quickly.
As a 21-year-old leg spinner, he has a lot to learn in the game. However, that doesn’t mean that he cannot do a job for the national team just as he did for the Lions.
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