Ireland vs South Africa in UAE, 2024 Top players best players

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Top batsman Ireland vs South Africa

Reeza Hendricks player profile

Reeza Hendricks has fashioned a reputation as a destructive T20 opener, with crisp shot-making, particularly through the covers, and one adept at pacing a knock and scoring quickly at either end of an innings.

Hendricks made his international debut in a T20I series against Australia in 2014, where he made 49 in the third match. In August 2018 he joined the short list of South Africans to have made a century in their first ODI, cracking 102 from 89 balls against Sri Lanka to seal an away series win.

Hendricks rose through the South African domestic ranks with consistent performances in the limited-overs game, first for Griqualand West and then for the Lions franchise. His talent was spotted young, and he was part of South Africa’s squad for the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia in 2008, which met Virat Kohli’s India team in the tournament final.

Hendricks became a regular starter for South Africa in white-ball cricket in 2018, following a domestic season where he was the first to score centuries in all three South African franchise competitions in a season, with three hundreds in the four-day competition in addition to those in the Momentum one-day and Ram Slam T20 tournaments. In the inaugural edition of the Mzansi Super League later that year, he played a crucial part in Jozi Stars’ title win, with 412 runs in eight innings, including back-to-back unbeaten hundreds.

In mid-2022, Hendricks hit a rich seam of form ahead of the T20 World Cup, reeling off three fifties in a row against England, followed by 74 and 42 against

Rassie van der Dussen player profile

Seeking opportunities wherever they might arise, Rassie van der Dussen had played cricket in South Africa, England, Ireland, Netherlands, Canada and the Caribbean before he finally caught the national selectors’ eye and made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in October 2018. Van der Dussen had also been part of South Africa A’s tour to India earlier that year, and the accumulated effect of his experience in such a wide variety of conditions has made him a dynamic, adaptable batsman at the top of the order or in the middle.

A naturally attacking batsman, van der Dussen has also been able to translate his talents into long-format cricket and was top-scorer in South Africa’s first-class domestic competition in 2017-18, as well as being Lions’ vice-captain. But it was his success in cricket’s shortest formats that made van der Dussen impossible to ignore.

He was an integral part of the Vancouver Knights team that won the 2018 Global T20 Canada, after which he was recruited by St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League and capped the year by topping the batting charts with 469 runs at a strike rate of 138.75 in Jozi Stars’ run to the inaugural Mzansi Super League title. Van der Dussen transitioned easily into international cricket, striking a fifty on T20I debut against Zimbabwe and following that up with 93 in his first ODI against Pakistan.

Lorcan Tucker player profile

Wicketkeeper-batter Lorcan Tucker, who was among Ireland’s first batch of contracted cricketers, made his international debut in 2016, before he played his first first-class game the following year. His father and brothers also played the game; Tucker and his younger brother Fiachra both figured in the 2016 Ireland Under-19 World Cup squad.

Tucker’s first international fifty came in 2019, against Zimbabwe in an ODI home series where Ireland whitewashed the visitors. He also shone in Ireland’s T20I series against USA in Lauderhill in 2021, holding his side together in an unsuccessful chase of 189 with 57 not out, and then making 84 in the series decider for a win.

In the T20 World Cup in 2022, Tucker was Ireland’s top scorer. He made 71 not out against Australia in an innings where his team’s next-highest score was 14, an unbeaten 45 in an impressive chase against West Indies that Ireland won, and 34 to set England a target that they failed to reach.

The T20 leagues came calling soon and Tucker signed for MI Emirates in the ILT20 and Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL, but it was in Test cricket that Tucker started most impressively. On his debut, in 2023, he made a fighting hundred from No. 7 after Ireland collapsed to 51 for 5 in the second innings against Bangladesh in Mirpur, though they eventually lost. That was the first of five scores of over 40 in his first nine innings in Tests.

Harry Tector player profile

Born into a cricketing family – his brothers Jack and Tim also captained Ireland at U19 World Cups – Harry Tector has quietly amassed an impressive record in the senior side since cementing a spot in the post-Covid era.

Playing in just his third ODI, in 2020, Tector produced an ice-cool 29 not out off 26 balls to help secure a famous win chasing 329 with a ball to spare. Paul Stirling’s and Andy Balbirnie’s hundreds may have taken the headlines on the day, but Tector’s poise gave hope that Ireland may have found a cure for the middle-order ills that had plagued them following multiple retirements toward the end of the 2010s.

After a string of 20s and 30s against lesser opposition, Tector showed signs that he performs better on a bigger stage after he made 79 off 68 balls to help take Ireland to their first ever ODI win over South Africa, in July 2021. Since then, he hasn’t looked back, making three fifties in Jamaica in an ODI series win over West Indies to start 2022. That run came in a stretch of nine ODI innings where he made seven scores of over 50, the last two of them hundreds against New Zealand. In between whiles he also made an unbeaten 64 off 33 balls in a rain-shortened T20 against India at Malahide.

Tector’s reputation as a T20 player of value has grown enough that he is one of the few Ireland cricketers able to attract interest on the T20 franchise circuit. He secured a deal with Barbados Royals in the CPL in 2022.

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Top All Rounder Ireland vs South Africa

Aiden Markram player profile

The first South Africa captain to win a World Cup, albeit at age-group level, Aiden Markram announced himself as champion material early. He led South Africa’s Under-19s to World Cup glory in 2014 and was also their leading run-scorer and third overall. It took him another three years to break into the senior side, but when he did, he made an impact right away with 97, 143 and 125 in his first three Tests, at home against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

He did well against tougher opposition as well, making 94 in a comprehensive win over India in Centurion in January 2018 and two big hundreds against Australia in the contentious Sandpapergate series two months later. But overseas success took a while to come – after disappointing tours of India and Sri Lanka, Markram made his first away Test hundred in a second-innings effort in Rawalpindi in February 2021, showing he had the technique to navigate pitches that turned and stayed low. His 108 gave South Africa a fighting chance, but they eventually lost the series 2-0.

A batter of class and composure, aggressive and strong on the off side, Markram did well in limited-overs cricket as well. In 2021, he was South Africa’s leading run-maker in ODIs, had a stellar T20 World Cup, and was named the T20I Player of the Year in Cricket South Africa’s awards for the year.

Wiaan Mulder player profile

A genuine seam-bowling allrounder at a time when specialist skills were being preferred on the South African circuit, Wiaan Mulder was primed for big things from a young age. He played provincial age-group cricket from the Under-13s, was South Africa’s leading wicket-taker at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup and made his first-class debut while still at school, arriving at the Wanderers in his St Stithians uniform and with his homework in tow.

Mulder made his ODI debut at the age of 19, against Bangladesh, and made 10 appearances between 2017 and 2019 but failed to establish himself in that side. Instead he earned his first Test cap in 2019 and was considered more of a red-ball prospect, enhanced by his regular appearances on the county circuit. Mulder played for Kent in 2019 and for Leicestershire from 2022. He was Leicestershire’s second-highest run-scorer in 2022, averaging a shave under 50, and their third-highest wicket-taker in 2023.

In essence, his performances in those two years, if put together, demonstrate the kind of potential he has when both aspects of his game are going well. South Africa have continued to invest in Mulder and he has been around national squads, across formats, as they seek to find space for an allrounder.

Curtis Campher player profile

Born in Johannesburg, raised in South Africa and a player for the national Under-19 side, Curtis Campher decided to leave his homeland behind and put his Irish passport to good use in early 2020, declaring his intentions to move to Ireland and play for the national team. He went on the Ireland Wolves’ tour to Namibia early that year, and impressed sufficiently to win a place in the squad for a three-match ODI series in England in July.

Thrown straight into the side, Campher made half-centuries in his first two international innings, and dismissed Tom Banton with his fourth ball on debut – whom he had previously trapped lbw while playing against him for South Africa U-19s. He also took a couple of wickets in the famous Irish victory in the third match of the series, and was immediately a fixture in the one-day side. “He’s a great person to captain,” said Andy Balbirnie.

Campher, a diminutive seam-bowling allrounder, has ambitions to move up the order and bat in the top six. He moved to Munster Reds ahead of the 2021 domestic season after playing for Leinster Lightning in his first summer as an adopted Irishman, though ankle surgery provided a setback. It was Niall O’Brien, the long-standing Ireland wicketkeeper, who first discovered that Campher qualified – thanks to his grandmother, who was brought up in Derry – while chatting to him during a warm-up match for the 2019 World Cup Qualifier.

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Top Bowlers of Ireland vs South Africa

Kagiso Rabada player profile

A strapping, genuine quick who regularly bowls in the 140-150kph range, Kagiso Rabada is the most exciting talent to emerge from South Africa in the post No.1 Test ranking era. Before he had turned 21, Rabada had already established himself as a potential leader of the attack.

Rabada thrust himself into the international spotlight at the 2014 Under-19 World Cup, where he took 6 for 25 against Australia in the semi-final. South Africa went on to win the title – their first – and Rabada finished as their highest wicket-taker.

Three months later, he was awarded a franchise contract with Lions and before the year was up, he had been included in the national ODI and Test squads. He made his T20I debut against Australia in Adelaide in November 2014.

In early 2015, Rabada showed his ability in the longer format. He claimed the South African record for the best bowling figures in a first-class match, 14 for 105, surpassing the haul taken by Dale Steyn seven seasons before. He finished the season as the third-highest wicket-taker in the Sunfoil Series.

He was included in all three squads to tour Bangladesh in July-August 2015, and became only the second player to take a hat-trick on ODI debut, eventually finishing with the best figures by a first-timer: 6 for 16.

Rabada also played in a home series against New Zealand and was then included on a tour to India. There, he led the ODI wicket-takers’ list with Steyn after both claimed 10 wickets. Injuries to Morne Morkel, then Steyn and Vernon Philander, meant Rabada got a chance to play in three of the four Tests of that series. On inhospitable pitches, he worked hard, often without reward but displayed the stamina required of a Test bowler.

Rabada has had more assistance from the surfaces at home, where he played against England in the absence of Steyn and Philander. In the final Test, with South Africa having already lost the series, Rabada became the youngest South African to take 10 wickets in a match when he finished with 13 for 144.

His workload did not lessen as he played a further four ODIs and two T20Is against England, three T20Is against Australia, and also led the attack at the 2016 World T20 in India. After his performances, Rabada seemed primed for an IPL stint but chose to sign a county deal with Kent for a month instead.

Kagiso Rabada IPL factfile

– Rabada’s rapid rise in international cricket earned him an IPL deal when he was just 21. He was bought for INR 5 crore by Delhi Capitals (then Daredevils) in 2017.

– He played six games that year, returning as many wickets and missed the next season with injury.

– Retained in 2019 for INR 4.2 crore, Rabada went on to bag 25 wickets in 12 games. The next year, he finished as the season’s highest wicket-taker, taking 30 wickets as Capitals finished runners-up.

– He was released ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction and was then snapped up by Punjab Kings for INR 9.25 crore.

– In his first season with Kings, he claimed 23 wickets even as the team failed to make the playoffs. He only played six matches in 2023 and was retained for IPL 2024.

Anrich Nortje player profile

With an ability to combine high speed with late swing, Nortje is the ideal successor to his hero Dale Steyn in South Africa’s pace attack.

He set the 2018-19 Mzansi Super League ablaze, attacking the stumps at 150kph and taking eight wickets in three matches – including the dismissals of Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma and Reeza Hendricks – at an average of 10.4. That earned him an ODI debut in March 2019 as well as call-ups to the IPL and the 50-over World Cup, although injury sidelined him from the latter two tournaments. Later that year, he got the chance to make his Test debut in India, and his ability to bend his back on the docile tracks stood out even as South Africa slumped to one Test defeat after another. His first away five-for in Tests also came in the subcontinent, in Rawalpindi in early 2021.

Back home against England in December 2019, Nortje proved himself the find of the summer, challenging England’s batters with plenty of short stuff and finishing as the leading wicket-taker with 18 in four Tests even though South Africa lost 3-1. His ability to grind it out as a nightwatch – contributing to a match-winning partnership in Centurion and batting for over three hours in Port Elizabeth – prompted South Africa’s bowling coach Charl Langeveldt to nickname him a “proper Dutchman”.

In the 2020 IPL, Nortje, playing for Delhi Capitals, clocked 156kph on the speed gun, and although Jos Buttler ramped that delivery for four, Nortje returned to bowl one of the balls of the tournament – a 155kph rocket that moved in off the seam and took out Buttler’s middle stump. An improved legcutter added to his T20 variations, helping him take nine wickets at an economy of 5.3 in the 2021 T20 World Cup.

Hip and back injuries shortened his 2022 IPL, but he remained a strike force for South Africa across formats, playing the summer Tests in England and the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, where he was the fifth-highest wicket-taker, with 11 dismissals from five games, again at an economy of 5.3, including 4 for 10 against Bangladesh.

He was named the men’s cricketer of the year at Cricket South Africa’s awards in July 2023 – an honour he had won in 2021 as well – but disappointingly missed the 2023 ODI World Cup in India and the entire summer at home due to a stress fracture to his back.

Nortje was schooled at Brandwag High in the small town of Uitenhage, north of Port Elizabeth and went on to complete a degree in financial planning at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, where he used varsity cricket to hone his skills. He enjoyed a strong start to his first-class franchise career, with 20 wickets in four matches in the 2016-17 season and a fifth-place finish on the first-class wicket charts in the 2017-18 summer. 

Anrich Nortje IPL factfile

– Anrich Nortje was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the IPL 2019 auction for his base price of INR 20 lakh but a shoulder injury ruled him out that season.

– Nortje was released by KKR ahead of IPL 2020 and initially went unsold at the auction. He was then signed up by Delhi Capitals (DC) as a replacement player for Chris Woakes.

– Nortje made an immediate impact with his pace, clocking speeds in excess of 155kph on more occasions than one. Nortje finished IPL 2021 with 22 wickets, the fourth highest that year.

– Nortje didn’t play the first half of IPL 2021, which was held in India, but had an excellent second half when the tournament resumed in the UAE, taking 12 wickets in eight games with an economy rate of 6.16.

– Nortje was retained by DC ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. An injury restricted him to just six games in IPL 2022 where he picked up nine wickets.

– Nortje didn’t have the best of times in IPL 2023, managing just ten wickets in as many games and leaking runs at 9.10.

Craig Young player profile

One of a number of players to emerge out of Ireland’s robust Under-19 squads from the early 2010s, Craig Young became the ninth bowler to take a five-for on men’s ODI debut when he demolished Scotland in Malahide in September 2014. It was a well-timed performance for Young, considering he had just lost his county contract with Sussex and parlayed that into a Cricket Ireland central contract.

Ben White player profile

Ben White was handed his T20I debut during Ireland’s 2021 home summer and was picked in their squad for the T20 World Cup later that year. A tall legspinner who bowls quickly and fires the ball in flat, White was viewed as a potential long-term option to fill Ireland’s wristspin void.

India vs Bangladesh Test ,2024 Top players best players

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