Late for the bus, but Linde makes spectacular return at international level

He was obviously delighted to have made a spectacular comeback to international cricket, but Proteas all-rounder George Linde nearly didn’t make it to the ground for the first T20 match against Pakistan in Durban on Tuesday.

Linde scored 48 runs with the bat and took 4/21 with the ball (both career bests), playing a key role in his team’s 11-run win in his first game for the SA team in more than three years.

However, the 33-year-old player very nearly missed the team bus that collected them at their hotel.

Based on his superb performance, he joked that it might have been a good omen and he would consider missing the bus again.

“For some reason my phone was 15 minutes behind, so I thought to myself at 4 o’clock (two hours ahead of the match) I’m going to walk down and get onto the bus nice and early,” Linde said.

“And then as I got out (of the hotel) there was the bus leaving, and that feeling was not great.

“Luckily there were police escorts and they took me to the bus… and it was quite embarrassing but I reckon for the next game I might be late again.”

Another chance

With a handful of first-choice players missing from the Proteas T20 squad, due to a clash with the Test series against Sri Lanka which ended on Monday, Linde was given another chance at the highest level of the game.

He had last played a match for the national team in September 2021, and he had played the last of his previous 14 T20 Internationals in July 2021.

The experienced all-rounder said he was relieved to have taken his chance after working hard to put himself back in contention for selection.

“It’s obviously an awesome feeling to be back again. I’ve been through a tough time but the last year has been really good,” he said.

“I obviously feel like I do deserve this opportunity, and it came at the right time actually, so I’m pretty chuffed with myself for getting here and I’m just thankful for the opportunity to play for the country.”

Miller’s contribution

While Linde received the Player of the Match award, he was full of praise for teammate David Miller, who hit 82 runs to carry the middle order after a top-order collapse.

“David’s innings was unbelievable. It’s a shame he got out at the time he did because I really think he would have wacked it,” Linde said.

“When he got out I was a bit nervous, to be honest… but luckily I was nice and calm and relaxed and I saw the ball quite nicely.”

The second of three T20 Internationals between South Africa and Pakistan will be played in Centurion on Friday.