Cobras beginning new era as stalwarts move on

THE Proteas are set to lose another fast bowler to Kolpak after Dane Paterson was excluded from the Cape Cobras’ 2020/21 contracted squad.

Paterson, 31, played eight T20Is, four ODI’s and two Test matches. The right-arm seamer featured in the final Test against England at the Wanderers, but will now look to pursue his future career in the English County Championship.

“We have been informed that he (Paterson) is doing so (signing a Kolpak). He needs final boxes to be ticked to by the ECB,” Cobras coach Ashwell Prince said yesterday.

Prince was particularly vocal on the Kolpak issue last season, calling out Cricket SA to urgently address the issues surrounding players choosing to pursue their careers in England when promising young Cobras batsman David Bedingham signed for Durham.

“This is very different to David. In that situation, I still believed David’s best chance to play international cricket is for South Africa. I have communicated to him my thoughts about him going all the way to the top,” Prince said.

Should Paterson’s move be ratified, it will force Proteas coach Mark Boucher to rethink his bowling strategies. The Proteas are blessed with the pace of Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, but they have lost Vernon Philander after the veteran signed for Somerset at the end of last season.

Paterson’s skill-set is the closest the Proteas have to a ready-made replacement for Philander, but Prince believes the bigger picture needs to be taken into account.

“Each case has to be handled individually. I think if you are 30 years old as a batsman your best years are still ahead of you, but as a bowler it’s a little bit different. I think there’s a lot of thought gone into it,” he said.

“It is (disappointing). But I think the player also looks at why he wasn’t in the ODI squads, the T20 squads. Maybe he is also looking at it from a point of view that I only played in those Tests because so many guys were injured. I am sure these decisions are massive decisions for him.”

Paterson is among a host of Cobras veterans who will move on next season, joining the likes of Philander, Rory Kleinveldt and Dane Piedt.

Prince thanked the quartet for their role in the Cobras’ success during the “glory years”, but believed this was the start of a “new era” at Newlands.

“I’d like to pay tribute to stalwarts Vernon Philander, Rory Kleinveldt, Dane Piedt and Dane Paterson for their commitment and outstanding performances for the region over the years,” he said.

“We’re absolutely delighted with our work during what is now becoming more like a football transfer window. We have been a very competitive squad in four-day cricket over the last three years but not so much in white-ball cricket. I believe all the new signings will bolster our squad, especially in the shorter formats.”

COBRAS SQUAD FOR 2020/21

Ziyaad Abrahams, Jonathan Bird, Corbin Bosch, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Isma-eel Gafieldien, Zubayr Hamza, George Linde, Pieter Malan, Janneman Malan, Imraan Manack, Aviwe Mgijima, Akhona Mnyyaka, Tshepo Moreki, Onke Nyaku, Calvin Savage, Jason Smith, Kyle Verreynne