Rabada rise has a Windies touch to it
One question Kagiso always asked me was ‘what made Malcolm Marshall so quick?’ The guy is extremely hungry to know everything. GORDON PARSONS, Highveld Lions coach
CAPE TOWN: Kagiso Rabada had just left school at Johannesburg’s St Stithians Boys College when India last toured South Africa in 2013. In the next four years, he won South Africa the 2014 U-19 World Cup with 14 wickets on flat UAE pitches and landed a multi-million IPL contract at 21 before taking over as the Proteas bowling spearhead in absence of Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander.
At 22, Rabada is the youngest Proteas pacer set to take on India in the New Year’s Test here. Yet, he looks mature beyond his age. Gordon Parsons, bowling coach of Highveld Lions, attributes it to Rabada’s thirst for knowledge.
“You know one question Kagiso always asked me was ‘what made Malcolm Marshall so quick?’ The guy is extremely hungry to know everything about cricket. He’s like a sponge,” he told Hindustan Times on phone.
“He wants to know where he is going. And he is not motivated by money. For a coach that is a magical thing to work with.”
Nicknamed ‘Bullhead’ in the County circuit during the 1980s, Parsons is Rabada’s medium to interact with the legendary West Indies pace bowlers when they talk about cricket. “We used to have the time to sit with them with a beer and talk -- players like Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Wasim Akram. I passed on things (to Rabada) that they told me,” said Parsons.
Having seen Rabada grow before him since playing a game for the Lions at 16, Parsons says being a natural athlete has helped. Rabada stands at 1.91m.
“I used to hold the record for the best first-class figures in an innings (9/72) at the Wanderers. He was 18 when he broke that with 9/36 against Dolphins. He just blew them away with a 15-wicket haul. We knew we had a special player here. He is walking the walk, not talking the talk,” said Parsons.
Despite Rabada’s rapid rise, Parsons doesn’t think he was pushed into the Proteas squad. “He is not being fast-tracked. They (Proteas) have managed him well. They haven’t overbowled him. They stopped him from playing a lot of cricket for us when I thought he should be playing at domestic level. But yes, he is looking very good and mature for his age. ”
Parsons feels Rabada’s pace alone should bother India in the upcoming Test series. “Against India, Kagiso’s role will be that of a strike bowler. His job is to bowl 150kph, which I think no one else in the world can bowl at the moment, and make things happen,” said Parsons.
“Touchwood, Rabada has been injury free. He has this natural ability to swing the ball. And he is not intimidated by big names. He will think ‘I am gonna knock this guy over’. If he was playing for England, they would have been probably 0-2 instead of being 0-3 down,” chuckled Parsons.