One of the three out-of-province signings the Dolphins have made in this off-season is Ruan de Swardt from Northerns and the youngster is ready to make his mark on franchise cricket next season.
De Swardt played his semi-professional cricket for Northerns.
“I am very excited to start my life down in Durban even though it isn’t a place that I am too familiar with,” De Swardt said.
“I spent a bit of time down with the guys a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed the setup. It was an environment where you work really hard but when you are away from cricket it is a very relaxed place.
“The guys were very welcoming and that’s always a good sign.”
De Swardt’s statistics at a semi-professional level are more than impressive with a batting average of 55 in first-class cricket and 88 in List-A cricket. Despite his obvious ability with the bat, he wants to fill a bigger role in the team.
“I want to take on that all-rounder role in the side. For me I want to be the Ben Stokes of the South African team,” he emphasised.
“If I can pick up a yard of pace during the off-season then I will be in a better place to be a strong all-rounder and I am looking forward to working with Quinton Friend.
“Batting will be my main role and I would love to bat between four and six in the order and then bowl whenever needed.”
His move to the Dolphins was never one that he contemplated but having worked with Mduduzi Mbatha at Northerns the option of a move to the Kingdom of the Zulu then became available.
“I never ever thought that I would be moving to the Dolphins, to be honest but after I got a call from Duzi (Mbatha), who was our coach at the Under-19 provincial week, he asked me if I would consider the move.
“Imraan (Khan) then got in touch with me and made me the offer. It was then up to the Dolphins and the Titans to work it out from there.
“When it was confirmed I made the trip down to Durban and was encouraged by the set-up there and that got me excited.
“I cannot wait to get going and I’m going to work as hard as I can when we get underway with our pre-season.”
In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo
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