Johannesburg - Proteas fast bowling sensation Kagiso Rabada made a strong start on his county championship debut for Kent in their match against Essex at Chelmsford on Sunday.
The 21-year-old returned figures of 2/28 on the opening day of his side's 4-day match, which included the scalp of England Test captain Alastair Cook.
Rabada removed both openers with the South African sensation trappingCook LBW after earlier dismissing opening partner Nick Browne who top-edged to Sam Northeast at mid-on.
The performance of Rabada prompted praise from Kent teammate Alex Blake who scored an unbeaten 89 in Kent's first innings of 207 all out.
“You forget how young he is, he's only 21, and he has that rhythm and action where he comes through nicely. It is good to have him on our side and hopefully tomorrow he can take a few more for us,” said Blake.
“It was nice to remove the two openers. Cook speaks for himself: he is England captain and one of the best players in the world. Nick Browne has had a good season and had an England mention, too. But they bat all the way down and there's plenty more work to do.
“If we can make some early in-roads tomorrow, who knows what will happen. In Rabada we have a fantastic bowler. I faced him in the nets first day he arrived and it is just a whole different level of cricket [facing Rabada].”
At the close of play, Essex were 107/2, still trailing Kent by 100 runs in the first innings.
African News Agency