Piedt primed for another shot at Test side

SA A and Proteas off-spinner Dane Piedt says playing in the US helped him with his allround abilities as a bowler, and he is now mature enough to have another crack at making the Proteas Test team.

Cape Town-born Piedt, 33, announced his retirement from cricket in SA and moved to the US in 2020.

He became part of the inaugural Major League Cricket competition, being signed to play for Washington Freedom earlier in 2023.

He had an impressive economy rate of 6.69 in the tournament.

With SA’s top off-spinners contracted and most of the Proteas Test squad set to be unavailable due to the SA20, which will clash with the Proteas’ Test tour to New Zealand in February, national red ball coach Shukri Conrad has had to manoeuvre his way through a tight spot.

His best available option to counter the Black Caps’ top order, which has several lefthanded batters, was to persuade Piedt, who made his Test debut for the Proteas against Zimbabwe in August 2014 and had not played first-class cricket for three years, to make a return.

Piedt, who has nine Test caps, returned from the US this year and joined the Knights after numerous conversations with Conrad, who saw value in him as a high-quality spinner.

Having done well with the Knights, he was included in the SA A side by Conrad, a gamble that many will argue is paying off after the experienced Piedt picked up 11 wickets to help steer SA A to a convincing 232-run victory over the West Indies A at Buffalo Park in East London on Friday.

The win levelled the four-day series at 1-1.

“It’s completely a different world out there [playing in the US]. You get to play with different cultures and that is something that has helped my game,” Piedt said. “I played mainly white-ball cricket there and that has helped with different game plans, and variations and there are many things I have added to my game.

“I’m a bit off from where I want to be physically, but I’m happy there’s something I’m building on in terms of my performances. “I said my Test career was done and dusted when I announced my retirement three or four years ago, [but] it is good to be back ...”