Winners want the ball when the game is on the line
Cricket Mentor / Idol:
Steve Waug
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Zander de Bruyn is reminiscent of the late Hansie Cronje at the crease; tall and elegant, the purveyor of crunching drives, but also with a question mark over his ability against fast, short-pitched bowling. And he is a useful medium-paced bowler to boot - able to break partnerships or keep an end tight for a lengthy period. In 2003-04, he emulated the great Barry Richards, by becoming only the second player in South African domestic cricket history to score 1000 runs in a SuperSport Series or Currie Cup season. Although he excelled at schoolboy level, de Bruyn's career never really got off the ground until he moved to Easterns in 2002, where he joined forces with their ultra-competitive coach - and newly-appointed national team mentor - Ray Jennings. That season, he played a huge role in an improbable Series victory, averaging 60 and scoring 169 in the final as Easterns overturned a first-innings deficit against the international-strength Western Province attack, and he has gone from strength to strength ever since, until earning a call-up for the Test tour of India in November 2004. Despite scoring 83 on debut, he was dropped after only two Tests. He signed a two-year contract with the Warriors in May 2006 and was appointed captain of the domestic side in September. In 2009, he transferred to the Lions franchise.
Ken Borland June 2009 – www.cricinfo.com
