Johannesburg – I know it was only four overs. And yes, the T20 format isn’t “real” cricket, but didn’t it just make the spine tingle seeing Marchant de Lange back in full flight on Tuesday?
As I’ve stated previously in this space, I love fast bowling and the blokes who bowl fast.
Of course I can appreciate a cover drive – Jacques Kallis’ among my favourites – or Hashim Amla’s straight drive and pull by Neil McKenzie, but it’s fast bowling that gets me.
The sprint to the crease, the gather, the violent yet poetic release and the possibility as Dale Steyn mentioned some time back that you can “basically kill someone with two bouncers in an over. Legally”.
Not that I’d actually want to see something like that, but it’s that danger, which provides the thrill.
There is nothing more disconcerting for a batsman than having to deal with sheer pace and when delivered accurately as De Lange did in Mohali Tuesday, it can change the course of a game.
De Lange started his first over with a 142km/h bullet, his top speed in the over was 148km/h and he picked up two wickets, immediately placing the Australian side, the Brisbane Heat, on the backfoot.
De Lange is not possessed of a classic action, like Steyn or Allan Donald; his is a more forceful approach, a brutal bullying muscular technique that places his body under the most enormous strain. He’s had his injury problems and is likely to have more, so appreciate seeing him while you still can.
De Lange is one example of a fast bowling cupboard that’s stocked with some exciting young talent in this country.
The 22-year-old, if fit, is among the candidates should an injury or loss of form befall any of the frontline bowlers who will spearhead South Africa’s attack against Pakistan next month.
He had an amazing debut against Sri Lanka in the Boxing Day Test in 2011, picking up seven wickets in the first innings.
On the back of that performance he signed up for an IPL stint – having been offered a $50 000 contract.
In hindsight that was the wrong move for a 20-year-old fast bowler. There was still plenty for him to learn, not least of which was his own body and how it would stand up to the rigours of a full season.
That is something De Lange is yet to experience and hopefully he will this summer.
Last season Wayne Parnell benefited from the extra playing time with the Warriors across all three formats.
The same would hold true for De Lange and a stronger, more consistent Marchant de Lange, would be a scary sight for batsmen, and a beautiful one for South African cricket fans.
The Star