ROYALS' NQABA PETER LIVING HIS PROTEAS DREAM

Everyone remembers the last over on Paarl Royals debut at St George’s Park, but the seminal moment in Nqaba Peter’s career came 18 months earlier at Buffalo Park in his hometown of East London.

Peter was still part of the University of Fort Hare-Cricket South Africa Academy intake at the time, and was asked to come down to the nets to bowl to the Proteas who were set to face the West Indies in the second ODI within a couple of days.

Little did Nqaba know it would set in motion a string of events that would see him form part of the Proteas team lining up to face the very-same Windies on his T20I debut in the Caribbean in less than a year’s time.

It certainly has been a whirlwind journey for the young leg-spinner ever since that fateful day in the Buffalo Park nets.

Moving up to the “Big Smoke” to join the Lions, drafted by the Paarl Royals as a Rookie for Betway SA20 Season 2, starring in the CSA T20 Challenge, making his T20I debut for the Proteas, retained by Royals for Season 3, and then being awarded the Cricket SA T20 Player of the Year and Domestic Newcomer of the Year prizes in Midrand last week.

And it's only getting better from here on after Nqaba was also included in the Proteas’ ODI squad on Monday for the series against Afghanistan and Ireland in the UAE later this month.

“Not a chance. Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would be capped to play for the Proteas so quickly,” Peter told Betway SA20 in an exclusive interview.

“But, you know again, I am very grateful for those opportunities. It’s definitely an environment you want to stay in.

“The guys helped me a lot, so that when I do go out there and bowl, it's a lot easier mentally.

“Very chuffed to be capped for the Proteas. I am really grateful that I got recognized for the season I had last season. Very excited for the season ahead.”

While the intervention was needed at Buffalo Park to kickstart Peter’s career, the 21-year-old believes the moment he started believing that he could succeed at the highest level came at St George’s Park when Royals captain David Miller entrusted the debutant with the final over against the Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

“It was definitely a big learning curve, it's very rare to see a spinner come on in the last over of the game to defend a score,” Peter said.

“I think with that, as much as I was very nervous, there were a lot of positives to take away from that game.

“In terms of experimenting and being brave in those situations. It gave me that trust in myself, and took it on to the domestic scene and tried to implement it.”

Peter is likely to come up against his new Royals teammate Mujeeb ur Rahman should he make his ODI debut against Afghanistan in Sharjah.

He is certainly, though, looking to tap into Mujeeb’s vast experience when he joins up with the Afghan mystery spinner at the Royals in Season 3.

“I am definitely going to learn a lot. Just like I did when Shammo (Tabraiz Shamsi) was there. For me, he is obviously a spinner, not quite the same, but it's just about learning as much as I can,” Peter said.

“It’s going to be very exciting. I think playing with other international players is going to be very exciting. I can’t wait for the next season of Betway SA20.”