After featuring as a highly-rated player for top T20 competitions around the globe, Durban-born Cameron Delport has revealed why he packed his bags and came back home.
Delport spent the last five years playing and making good money in various T20 leagues while being mostly based in England.
Many were taken by surprise when the 32-year-old all-rounder was announced as one of the players for Division Two side, the Tuskers (formerly KZN Inland) in April this year.
The aggressive left-handed batsman, who has played in leagues such as the Big Bash, Pakistan Super League and Bangladesh Premier League, has signed a one-year deal with the Pietermaritzburg-based side. “I just thought with me having been doing so well in the (T20) leagues, let me come back and obviously try to push for (a place in) the Proteas,” Delport told the Witness.
“And obviously with the two world cups happening this year and next year, I just thought I’m at a place now where I kind of know my T20 game.
“I’ve done well with the international players in international leagues and I thought let me just come back and have a push.”
With Covid-19 delaying a lot of sports events abroad and more especially in SA, it meant the all-rounder had no chance of being selected for Proteas for the ongoing T20 World Cup, though.
The star player, who won the Mzansi Super League with the Paarl Rocks in 2019, has set his sights on next year’s big tournament in Australia.
“I think I’ve got over 280 T20 games now playing in different leagues around the world and playing with and against various guys that are currently playing for their respective countries,” he said.
“I think what I’ve done in those leagues shows that I can step up to that international level.
“It has definitely helped me a lot, I’ve learnt a lot from those five years, obviously feeding off from experienced T20 guys like Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, and those guys are the best in the business.”
Delport has already made appearances for the Tuskers this season as he was part of their squad for the CSA Provincial T20 Knock-Out competition in Bloemfontein last month.
He will be one of the key players in their pursuit for promotion to Division One in 2023. “It’s been nice to be back in the system. I’ve just been away for the last five years and it’s nice to be in a team environment and have a good pre-season again,” said the player.
“Obviously, I was travelling the world quite a bit and playing in various T20 leagues, I didn’t really have time to have a pre-season and stuff like that, so, ja, it’s been great so far.
“Obviously, I had to reset a bit after being in that T20 mode, so the pre-season gave me a bit of time to focus on that stuff that needs to be done during the off season.”
The Tuskers will return to action when they host the Eastern Storm in a 4-Day match at the Pietermaritzburg City Oval next Friday.