Lions Thami Tsolekile might be in Australia as the second wicket-keeper or an understudy to AB de Villiers but at the moment the one person making all the right moves is Titans keeper and opening batsman Heino Kuhn.
Kuhn hit a marvellous century against the Knights in their Momentum 1 Day-cup game on Sunday which will surely have raised an eye brow or two among the national selectors that the Titans keeper is the man in form.
Sundays knock was a mature , disciplined and well constructed innings. One that every coach would ask for at team meetings in which one of the top five should try to bat the majority of the duration of the innings.
And Kuhn obliged batting until the 43rd over for his knock of 108.
Speaking yesterday after the Titans victory over the weekend the 28 year old was just happy to be making a good contribution to the Titans cause and obviously making most of the opportunities at the top of the innings.
“ I’m really chuffed with my performance. It’s been long time coming I would say, but I’m just delighted to contribute to the Titans cause,” said Kuhn.
“I do enjoy opening the innings but it’s not always easy. I think in the game against the Knights I had to be a bit patient because McLaren and Van der Wath bowled a tight line and were getting movement off the deck. So at times you have to ride your luck a bit and then try to cash in. Obviously with the field up there there are plenty gaps and it makes scoring much easier in the opening overs.”
With the debate continuing on who is next in line to take over from AB de Villiers should he for some reason not be able to play, many would argue that the player in form should be given an opportunity.
Kuhn no doubt is very much in the mix and a few more knocks like the other day will surely see him being the sole number one to take over from De Villiers.
And given that Tsolekile won’t be given a run in the Test series against Australia unless De Villiers gets injured , he won’t have any chance to show his capabilities which could see him fall down the pecking order.
Kuhn would love to play for the Proteas again but is not looking too far ahead, rather focusing on every domestic match in a bid to work his way back into contention.
“ Everybody would want to play for their country no matter what format it is and I’m no different. For now though, I just want to focus on doing well for the Titans and continue to make a worthy contribution to the team. At the moment I’m really enjoying my cricket a lot.” said the keeper.
After playing their opening three matches at home, the Titans are on the road for the next leg of Momentum 1- day cup matches with the Dolphins in Durban on Friday followed by the Warriors on Sunday in East London.