There ’ s no rest for the wicket

FAST bowlers, as a breed, work hard to be larger than life. A snarl here, a profanity there, and they know they have added to the threat they pose.

But Rory Kleinveldt is not of that breed. In fact, he is going to spend the winter cutting himself down to size.

“It’s no secret I’m carrying a bit of weight,” Kleinveldt said without prompting when asked about his plans for the offseason. “Rob [Walter, SA’s conditioning expert] has put together a programme for me to drop a few in the next couple of months.”

Kleinveldt, who wants to lose “at least 10kg”, admitted: “It’s going to take a lot of hard work and discipline, but I’m looking forward to it.”

He knew his enemy: “I enjoy carbs. I’m going to have to cut down on them.”

Many will have confidence in Kleinveldt reaching his goal weight — they have seen him overcome challenges before.

He went on SA’s tour of Australia last year as a fringe player. So eyebrows shot up when he was preferred to Imran Tahir for the first test. Rain and a benign pitch spoiled Kleinveldt ’ s debut.

When Vernon Philander was ruled out of the second test with a back spasm, Kleinveldt came again, saw again, but this time he conquered by knocking over the top order with highquality deliveries.

“That was a relief,” Kleinveldt said. “It also gave me confidence that I can play at this level.”

He played his first ODI against New Zealand at Paarl in January, and after six games has 10 wickets at an economy rate of 5.15 and a strike rate of 32.1.

Those who have kept an eye on Kleinveldt’s 10 seasons of first-class cricket will be unmoved by his success. Like Philander before him, he had proved himself. All he needed was an opportunity. Now he needs to keep performing.

“You can never feel secure, especially with all the talent around in SA in the fast bowling department. That keeps you on your toes.”

The battle of the bulge won’t be Kleinveldt’s sole focus this winter. Last week he got engaged to Reyhana Henry — hockey player, planner in the fashion industry and daughter of former SA left-arm spinner Omar Henry. Wedding plans are under way.