Ken Borland

Keegan Petersen and Kyle Verreynne may have felt like they were frozen out of the Test team given how long they have had to wait for their chance, but like London Buses two gaps have come along at the same time and they have both made their debut in the first Test between South Africa and the West Indies at St Lucia.

Petersen has been part of the squad since December 2019 and Verreynne was first called up in ODI cricket a couple of months later. They have both come through the fertile ground of Western Cape cricket, although Petersen comes from the Boland and Verreynne hails from Wynberg Boys High School and Western Province Schools.

With the West Indies winning the toss and choosing to bat first, they will be hoping the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium pitch becomes nice and flat as they look to make their mark in a South African batting line-up that has lost a vast amount of experience in the last few years. Petersen is the replacement for retired former captain Faf du Plessis and Verreynne gets his chance due to new vice-captain Temba Bavuma having a hip injury.

The 27-year-old Petersen has been pretty much permanently piling on the runs in franchise cricket in the last four seasons. In that time he has not once averaged less than 44 and has posted eight centuries in 39 matches for the Knights and Dolphins, who he joined last season. He left the Cape Cobras in 2017 due to limited opportunities, the elegant right-hander playing only seven matches for them.

While there has been disappointment in some quarters that Verreynne has had to wait until now for his Test debut, as the back-up wicketkeeper to Quinton de Kock his chances are always going to be limited. But four hundreds and 16 fifties in 32 matches for the Cobras are not to be scoffed at, and many of those big innings have come when the Cobras have been struggling and conditions are hard.

The 24-year-old embodies the grit and determination so many South African middle-order batsmen are famous for and he will want to lift what has been a disappointing output by the Proteas batsmen recently.

Keegan Petersen says there have been nerves and excitement, gratitude and a sense of privilege, but no frustration during his lengthy time in the Proteas squad without actually playing in a match, which looks set to come to an end in the Caribbean.

South Africa take on the West Indies in the first Test from June 10 and there is a vacancy in the batting line-up with Faf du Plessis having retired. And new captain Dean Elgar only mentioned Petersen when he was asked last weekend about who was in the mix to replace the former captain.

“It’s been a while being in the squad, but it doesn’t feel like a long time because it is always so nice coming into this environment. It’s a higher level of professionalism and it’s a privilege to be here. So it hasn’t required much patience, I’m just grateful to be here and there hasn’t been any frustration. But I have been nervous for a while and I get goosebumps just thinking about making my debut.

“I know I’ll have big boots to fill and when your dream becomes a reality, it gives your system a bit of a shock. I don’t know how selection is going to go, but I am extremely excited to represent my country and it would mean the world to my family. We are very close and tight-knit, and my pride is their pride and my tears are their tears. This is what I dreamed of as a kid,” Petersen said.

The 27-year-old had to leave his family in Paarl to make those cricketing dreams come true, and he said he was pleased the winding road of his career had brought him to Durban and playing for the champion Dolphins side.

“It’s been an up-and-down journey from Paarl to Bloemfontein to Durban. So I’ve gone from coast to coast, it’s been a long journey. I’ve been in the first-class system for almost 10 years, so I’ve been around. So it would mean a lot to get a go on this tour because I know the journey has been tough and long, this is what I’ve worked for, why I play cricket.

“I like to think I’ve built a reputation over the last couple of years in domestic cricket and I’ve learnt a lot since joining the Dolphins, it has expanded my game in testing conditions in Durban. Kingsmead has prepared me for any slow or turning pitch because that’s all we get there to be honest. It’s a spinning wicket and I know I’ll be prepared for whatever I get in the Caribbean,” Petersen said.

The Steinhoff Maties were comfortably beaten by Assupol Tukkies in the opening match of the Red Bull Campus Cricket finals at the University of Pretoria on Tuesday, but one of their players who impressed was talented batsman Keegan Petersen.

Maties were hoping for big things from Petersen, who averaged 48.25 for Boland in the last first-class season, with four centuries including a mammoth 225, and he scored 30 off 35 balls to repair the damage after Stellenbosch University were in early trouble on three for two.

Petersen also scored 187 for Boland in 2012 in his first year of first-class cricket and has been under scrutiny by the Cape Cobras selectors, with the franchise now offering him a contract for next season.

A small, slightly built 20-year-old, Petersen has a top-class technique and a silky touch, a batsman who prefers to stroke the ball rather than bash it.

He also scored four centuries for Maties in the season just ended but is rather nonplussed by his great summer.

“I don’t really know what came right, things just went my way. I know my strengths, but I work hard on my weaknesses. I’ve had a big improvement in converting scores now, most of the time, if I get 50 I’ll go big,” Petersen says.

The Cobras deal is obviously exciting for the Paarl product and he says he is determined to actually make his debut for the franchise next season.

“My goal is to get game-time. I have to keep performing and push for a spot,” Petersen says.

Given his slender build, JP Duminy is probably an obvious choice of role-model for Petersen, who says he really looks up to the Proteas left-hander.

He is also extremely grateful for the efforts of his father, Dirkie, and the thousands of throw-downs he has given him.

A contemporary of former SA U19 paceman Rabian Engelbrecht at New Orleans Secondary School, Petersen is one of the brightest young talents of the Winelands and the importance of university cricket in his development cannot be underestimated.

http://www.redbullcampuscricket.com/southafrica/latest/stand-out-players-keegan-petersen/