Cape Town - Prolific Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will be hoping to put four weeks of county cricket action to good use for the Proteas in the first Test against New Zealand which started at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday.
Rabada opted for county cricket in England over an IPL jaunt, and his decision has paid dividends with his experiences in Kent.
The 21-year-old Rabada is already mentioned in the same breath as some of the best cricket players in the world, but the pace bowler is always eager to learn and improve his skill-set.
This is exactly why Rabada's decision to play for Kent in this year's county season was an astute one, as a player, he is now more familiar with the playing conditions in England, and also the culture.
“The cricketing culture here, you've got 18 clubs, 18 counties, and they all play cricket at the highest level,” Rabada said in a recent interview.
“Back home there's only six franchises and not a lot of people come and watch four-day cricket. It's not as well supported as it is here.”
The fast bowler was included in the st to play New Zealand. Rabada will line-up alongside Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander as part of strong Proteas bowling attack. Rabada acclimatised to the English summer conditions in no time at all and put in a man-of-the-match performance on his Kent T20 debut, claiming two wickets to help his team to a 10-run win over rivals Sussex.
“It was a great start for my debut and I'm just happy that I could contribute and that the team has won. It's a good start for me and hopefully we can get some momentum from this,” Rabada said in an interview on Kent's official website.
“It was quite a good wicket but most of the guys felt we fell a bit short runs wise, so credit to all the bowlers because we made it tough for them to score and got wickets at crucial times.”
Rabada set some goals for himself when heading to England, chief among them gaining experience of county cricket and also playing there for the first time. “I've never been in England, but it's a blessing in disguise,” he said.
“I've played with the Dukes ball now and I've seen what the wickets are like in summer, so I guess that's a little bonus for me.”
When asked about the level of cricket in England, Rabada simply responded that he felt “the standard of cricket is much of the same around the world”.
“If I was playing in a game back home it would be as competitive. Maybe just the conditions are different. “It's been great for me, I've had good fun both on and off the field. On the field it's been tough, the two four-day games we've played, but it's been thoroughly enjoyable.” As for Kent county itself?
“It's in a nice little town, nice and quiet but then there's still a lot to do. You can go to town, you can watch something at the theatre. There's a bit to do here and it's not far away from London too.”
African News Agency