A dream come true for Parnell

Johannesburg – Twelve months ago, Wayne Parnell was one of the members of the South African Cricket Academy, dreaming of earning a full-time spot in the Warriors franchise, with thoughts of playing for South Africa very much a dream for the future.

A year later, 19-year-old Parnell has a national contract with the South African cricket team – becoming the youngest player to be awarded a national contract.

He performed so well at the ICC World Twenty20 (T20) tournament in England that he was named part of the World Team selected by a panel of experts, beating out bowlers like last year’s ICC Cricketer of the Year Dale Steyn and Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga for the honour of opening the bowling with Pakistan’s Umar Gul.

Parnell was one of three South Africans named in the team, the others being veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis and explosive batsman AB de Villiers.

“I never dreamt things would happen so fast,” Parnell said on Tuesday. “A year ago, I was just working to play for the Warriors.”

Parnell first played for South Africa in Australia earlier this year. He played competently in Australia, but it was in the return series in South Africa that he really grabbed the headlines.

In the second one-day international (ODI) at Supersport Park in Centurion, he ripped through the Australian batting order, taking four wickets for 25 runs, and earned himself a place in the South African team for the World T20.

The lanky teenager is by far the youngest member of the national squad, but his achievements with the ball have resulted in him being accepted as a full member of the team.

“When I first played for South Africa, I felt a bit of an outsider,” he said. “But once I started taking wickets for South Africa, the others made me feel really welcome, and I now feel I belong there.”

At present, Parnell is happy just to be part of the limited overs team, although his ultimate goal is to play Test cricket for South Africa.

One thing Parnell has achieved in his brief spell in international cricket is that he has helped coach Mickey Arthur solve the problem of “death” bowlers.

“This was one of the biggest positives to come out of our campaign,” commented Arthur.

“The way Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell closed both the West Indies and Pakistan down in the last four overs of what were very tight matches was very encouraging. Looking ahead to the Champions’ Trophy these two look to have solved one of our few problem areas.”

Although he is better known as a bowler, Parnell is also an outstanding batsman and he hopes to establish himself as an all-rounder.

“I really enjoy batting – when I played for Kent, before the World T20, I made 69 in one match and 90 in the other – and I definitely want to do more with the bat. So far, I haven’t really had the opportunity to show what I can do, but I’m sure the time will come.

“Ideally, I would like to bat at number seven or eight for South Africa, and also for the Warriors.”

Source: News24