Dwaine forces selectors to look in his direction
ALLROUNDER: Highveld Lions player Dwaine Pretorius wants to make Champions Trophy squad WITH his height, strength, pace and mobility, allrounder Dwaine Pretorius would make a formidable centre-half.
However, the knee brace the Proteas’ one-day international and Highveld Lions allrounder wears to practice sessions doesn’t allow him to play football. There are no immediate injury worries but fatherhood and prolonging his career are priorities.
With his infant Hanlu being the axis of his life, his golfing hobby will also have to be put on the back burner.
“It’s a bit tough when we’re touring and it’s not always possible to have the family close by, but the benefits on one-day series is that they’re not the longest so managing time away from the family is not tough at the moment,” Pretorius said.
“There’s something called face-time where I get to speak to my wife but when I’m here [in SA], I’m spending my time with my family instead of partying. Golf will also have to take a backseat because of the time I want to spend with Hanlu.”
Time with his young one is not something Pretorius may have if he gets into the 15-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales — June 1-18 — and the rest of the England tour.
With Andile Phehlukwayo, Wayne Parnell and Chris Morris also in the selection frame, Pretorius knows a seat on the plane to England is not guaranteed even though he’s the best batter of the lot. The 27-year-old said he has done what he can to make the selectors look his way and will leave the rest to the fates.
“There’s a lot of quality competition among the allrounders and that means we need to do well under pressure,” he said.
“With the kind of competition around me, you can’t afford to have an off day. If that happens, there’s someone knocking on the door, if not kicking it down.
“We have to work hard at all times and I don’t know what else I need to be selected. I just have to do my best for the Lions.
“During the tour, all the allrounders took part in the optional training sessions because they know how tough the competition is. At the end of the day, we enjoy giving the selectors the delightful headache.
“We want them to make hard decisions when it comes to picking us and you don’t want them to make an easy choice when it comes to leaving you out.”
The test team is also going through a sea of stability but long tours like the one the Proteas will undertake from May 24 to August 8 often come with changes, especially if the results don’t work out. There is also the significance of Russell Domingo’s contract that expires at the end of August.
With Highveld Lions coach Geoff Toyana also employing Pretorius extensively in the longer format, the test team is also on his horizon.
“The test team is tough to break into because I’m not an out-and-out bowler and I’m not fast,” said Pretorius. “The only way in for me is batting at seven and being the fourth seamer and to do that, I need to score runs and do well at franchise level. I’d love to play the third seamer role and bat at eight but Vernon Philander has that role covered.
We have to work hard at all times and I do not know what else I need to be selected