Pretoria - While he is as ecstatic as any player who made it into South Africa’s brand new premier cricket league, the SA20, Eathan Bosch reckons how he got there isn’t an experience he would recommend to anyone.
“I sat there and watched the whole thing,” he said of the September 19 auction for the SA20 League.
“They went past my name two or three times before they ended up picking me, so I don’t think I’ll ever be doing that again. Obviously I think I’m fortunate to have been bought [for a baseline price of R175 000]. It’s an opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the greats of the T20 game and the coaching staff. Jacques Kallis is one of my idols and one of the best to have ever played the game, so I’ll just try to be a sponge when the tournament comes.”
Getting picked up by an SA20 team may have had shades of being close to the last kid picked in the playground, but the fact that it was the Pretoria Capitals made the wait worth it for the Durban-born Dolphins player. The Pretoria Capitals, owned by JSW Sports, also co-owners of IPL giants the Delhi Capitals, is one of six exciting franchises in the SA20.
The Capitals will be based at SuperSport Park in Centurion, which is incidentally where Bosch’s late father, former Proteas fast bowler Tertius Bosch, plied his trade in the late 1980s and early 1990s – and where Bosch’s elder brother, Corbin, plays as a Titans player.
“It’s going to be nice going back home and playing where my dad played … Not that I’m the quickest guy out there, there’s always a bit of pace and bounce. It’s a nice place to be tested as a bowler because you have to be very accurate and clear in your plans.”
Following in their father’s footsteps is important to the Bosch brothers. Eathan said: “Trying to live in his footsteps is a big driver. Obviously I’m grateful I didn’t get his batting genes because I bat way better than he ever could … But I wear number 14 [Tertius’ old number], my brother also does and we both want to play for the Proteas. Even on my run up, I write ‘TB’ … Pretty much every time I’m on the field, it’s for him.”
The league kicks off on January 10.
Pretoria News