Ken Borland

Olympic silver medallist Sunette Viljoen’s only expectation as she resumes her cricket career is that she has fun and is able to showcase her talents in another sport, but such is the competitive fire that burns within the 38-year-old that she believes she can make it back into the Proteas team.

South Africa’s most successful javelin thrower with her second place in the 2016 Rio Olympics and two Commonwealth Games golds (alongside Marius Corbett – gold medals at the 1997 World Champs & 1998 Commonwealth Games), Viljoen has been included in the Northerns Titans training squad for their Senior Provincial matches starting in January.

Viljoen actually first made her name in cricket, debuting for South Africa in 2000 as a 17-year-old out of Hoerskool Rustenburg. At the time, she was the youngest to ever represent the women’s national team and she played in the World Cup in New Zealand that year and played one Test and 17 ODIs for the Proteas before switching her focus to athletics. Her last representative game of cricket was in 2003.

“I always knew I would go back to cricket for a new challenge and after my shoulder injury kept me out of Tokyo last year,” Viljoen told The Citizen. “I have severe competitiveness and that fire burns very high in me.

“I started back at the bottom with Irene Villagers in August/September last year and I’ve done really well – I scored 141, 102 and 80 recently, and took a few wickets. That got me into the Titans training squad.

“I’m really looking forward to the new year, I can’t wait for the opportunity to play for them and I think my game is strong enough.

“There’s no pressure on me to perform, the most important thing is for me to enjoy myself, show my talent and how much I love to play cricket. But I want to play for the national side again and I will go fully for that,” Viljoen said.

Of course the game has changed immensely since Viljoen last played at provincial level – her memory is of it basically being a hobby for the participants – but her experiences at the highest level of athletics means the all-rounder is confident she has the mettle to handle the increased professionalism that is now evident in women’s cricket.

“I am going to be fearless, believe in my own game and my capabilities, I am not going to stand back for anyone. My mental strength is very good.

“I had to overcome a lot on the international stage in finals at World Championships, Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. I will bring the same mentality as on the athletics field.

“It’s you against the bowler or batter and I’m used to staying sharp for an hour-and-a-half in an Olympic final. There’s a lot to carry over from my athletics career, but I have always enjoyed team sports as well.

“I’ve been an individual sportswoman for such a long time, so it’s nice to be in a team environment again. My personality enjoys being amongst other people, but cricket is still quite individualistic,” Viljoen said.

Wayne Parnell is back in the Proteas fold for the first time in four years with the 32-year-old all-rounder saying on Thursday that his recall was most unexpected as his focus this summer has purely been on shepherding the young players in the Western Province team.

Parnell is the first former Kolpak player to be chosen for the national squad since the end of that talent-draining ruling in January 2020. It may just be for a three-match ODI series against the Netherlands from which several first-choice players are being rested, but given how well he has performed with both bat and ball for Western Province, Parnell could well add his name to the serious discussions over all-rounder spots.

“For me it’s been a crazy journey over the last couple of years,” Parnell said on Thursday. “I didn’t set out to come back and play for the Proteas, I was just trying to add value for Western Province, help the younger guys.

“I had no expectation, I didn’t think I would ever play for South Africa again. But I am still young enough and I can contribute. I’ve only spoken to Victor Mpitsang [convenor of selectors] about where I fit in and opportunities going forward.

“I still have to sit down with Mark Boucher [head coach] and understand what they’re thinking, but I cannot turn down my country. And if I play well then maybe I will play against India,” Parnell said.

The former SA U19 captain and leading wicket-taker at the 2008 U19 World Cup is one of South Africa’s great unfulfilled talents, despite playing six Tests, 65 ODIs and 40 T20s for the Proteas.

But he said on Thursday that he has been able to find more enjoyment in playing now and any past mismanagement lay in the past.

“I’m more experienced now and I know how to deal with different circumstances. I’ve been enjoying playing different roles and having more freedom. International cricket is different because there is a lot more competition for places.

“Now I look at the game completely differently and I feel comfortable with what I can bring to any team and I’m not worried about being better than the guy next to me.

“There were a lot of different factors to my career, but I don’t look back. Yes, a lot of things could have been done differently, but I don’t blame anyone. Maybe it will be better this time,” Parnell said.

Fast bowler Duanne Olivier is starring in four-day domestic cricket, back in South Africa for the first time since February 2019, when he took four wickets in the Proteas’ infamous second Test loss to Sri Lanka in Port Elizabeth, when the tiny island nation became the first subcontinental team to win a Test series here.

He then added to the sense of shock in South African cricket at the time by taking a Kolpak contract to play in English county cricket for Yorkshire. Olivier did play in the Mzansi Super League for the Jozi Stars at the end of 2019, but with the Kolpak door now closed, the 29-year-old should be back in the local game permanently.

Olivier was named in a powerful four-man Central Gauteng Lions pace attack on Friday in their CSA Four-Day Domestic Series match against the North-West Dragons at the Wanderers, and was in fine form, taking four for 50 in 14.2 overs. And it wasn’t just all fire and brimstone either, there were clearly intelligent plans at play too.

As a fiery strike bowler, Olivier is always expected to take wickets and be the spearhead of a successful team. Certainly in English county cricket, he will be looked to by Yorkshire as the overseas pro who will win them matches and get them into contention for silverware.

Despite fairly modest returns of 75 wickets in 25 first-class games for Yorkshire at an average of 32.42, Olivier has been signed as an overseas pro through to the end of next season.

The owner of an excellent Test record of 48 wickets in 10 matches at 19.25 will have the same level of expectation from the Lions, especially since their home base of the Wanderers is ideally suited to his high-energy, high-impact bowling that can drag life out of most pitches.

Olivier said he is loving the pressure that is on him to perform.

“I always feel pressure because I am always trying to do well for the team. I actually enjoy it, it’s a part of the game and it helps a lot that in the UK, you are also always under pressure,” Olivier said on the eve of his Lions debut.

“This is a different structure now in South African cricket, which means there is different pressure, and I will embrace that. Every year is a challenge, with different ups and downs, and every year I just understand my game a bit better.

“Obviously cricket is performance-based and if you take wickets then it looks like you’re making an impact, but for me it’s about the process and how well I have bowled.

“It’s always nice in Johannesburg because it’s more suited to fast bowling. But I will just try to keep it as simple as possible. What I’ve achieved before is irrelevant, it’s three or four years since I last played at the Wanderers, and it’s a fresh challenge,” Olivier said.

Quinton de Kock may have left his team in the lurch by pulling out of their last game a couple of hours before the start, but the Proteas are all looking forward to having his services once again and will welcome him back with open arms, Rassie van der Dussen said on Thursday.

De Kock on Thursday issued a statement apologising for, and explaining, his reasons for refusing to take a knee in support of BLM ahead of South Africa’s T20 World Cup match against the West Indies earlier this week, and has now agreed to follow the CSA Board’s directive.

Fellow batsman Van der Dussen said all is forgiven and the team are really looking forward to having him back in the line-up for their game against Sri Lanka in Sharjah on Saturday.

“Quinny has been extremely remorseful and everyone understands and supports what he did, even though the timing was not great,” Van der Dussen said.

“It speaks volumes for the open environment the team and management has. He did not have to explain himself to us really, but we have come a long way in creating a safe space within the squad.

“He’s one of the best players in the world and of course we will welcome him back with open arms. We understood why he did what he did, and that’s the end of the story for us.

“I’m sure he will be selected on Saturday and it will be like nothing has happened as far as the team is concerned. Hopefully he himself will be in the right frame of mind to deliver a matchwinning performance like he has done so many times before. But it’s going to be great to have our brother and friend back on the field,” Van der Dussen, one of the strongest supporters of taking a knee amongst the White contingent in the team, said.

The statement De Kock issued earlier on Thursday said his actions were guided by the lack of engagement on the issue between the CSA Board and the squad, with the “take a knee” edict seemingly coming out of the blue for the players.

CSA Board chairman Lawson Naidoo and two other directors subsequently held a virtual meeting with the Proteas squad and management on Wednesday night, in which the reasons for their directive were clarified and the players’ concerns addressed.

A CSA statement on Thursday said De Kock and the rest of the team had now agreed to align themselves with the stance against racism as a moral issue and not a political statement.