TRADING TACKLES FOR BOUNCERS: GIDEON PETERS' FAST-TRACK TO THE IPL

Pretoria is Blue Bulls country - the land of the oval ball, where rugby union reigns supreme. 

Think of Naas Botha, Derick Hougaard, Morné Steyn, and current Springbok flyhalf Handré Pollard. They are all demigods in the nation’s capital. It is only natural for any Pretoria youngster to harbour ambitions of emulating them at the nearby Loftus Versfeld, the epicentre of Bulls rugby.

However, the Pretoria Capitals - and now IPL team, Delhi Capitals - have a certain Cobus Pienaar to thank for convincing fast bowler Gideon Peters that it was a far better idea to hurt batters with 140km/h-plus deliveries than to be battered by giant loose forwards on the rugby field.

Pienaar, who comes from good cricketing stock as the nephew of former Proteas fast bowler Fanie de Villiers, is the Director of Cricket at Peters’ alma mater, Waterkloof High School in Pretoria.

The pair crossed paths during Peters’ Grade 11 year, shortly after Pienaar had completed a distinguished provincial career with Northerns, who are based at the Capitals’ home ground, Centurion.

Peters was playing both cricket and rugby at the time, but had progressed further in the contact sport, having already represented the Blue Bulls in age-group teams. However, despite Peters suffering from injuries back then already, Pienaar realised that the young tearaway had a unique gift: he could bowl fast - really fast!

“I finished with the [Northerns] Titans as a player and started at Waterkloof. He was basically in Grade 11 when I took over the cricket programme,” Pienaar told Betway SA20.

“He had a strong rugby background and was in the Blue Bulls setup as well. He played fullback or wing in the outside backs. His feet were always magic. He was very good on the attack, and obviously good under the high ball because of his cricket background.

“In cricket, though, he was a bit injury-prone. We modified and streamlined a couple of things with him. From there, he started doing very well. He played for the [Northerns] U19 side [and earned SA Colts recognition in 2017], and that was basically when he realised there was career potential after school.

“In his last year, he still played both rugby and cricket, but he leaned more towards cricket. I knew straight away he had an X-factor. He was hot property because he always had the ability to bowl 140 clicks an hour.

“He also had a bit of a temper and wouldn't back down from a challenge. Furthermore, he had a big heart and always possessed a fighting instinct.”

This highly competitive spirit had to be channelled in the right direction, though, and this is where Pienaar’s role as an early mentor was vital to Peters' development.

“He had to fit into the system and understand that the team and the programme were bigger than the individual. That's sometimes the biggest challenge for youngsters who are highly talented. I think he bought into the way I see cricket and his development,” Pienaar said.

“Since then, we have had a very strong relationship with a lot of mutual respect. Once he realised that the team was bigger than the individual, he progressed quickly. He's been a great guy, and the other players enjoy having him in the team environment.”

Peters has had to overcome numerous obstacles to get to where he is today. Being able to bowl fast came with several challenges, as his fragile body has been through various tests just to keep him on the park.

Although the 26-year-old has charged in for the Capitals across two Betway SA20 seasons, claiming 13 wickets at an average of 21.84, he has hardly played any cricket in between due to injuries.

It is only recently that the pace spearhead has been able to put together a string of matches for his domestic team, the Warriors. This bodes well for his future, especially after receiving a maiden call-up to the Proteas ODI squad for the tour to Pakistan at the beginning of the year.

Pienaar believes that with the correct management and bowling workload, the best of Peters is still to come.

“His hamstring was a bit of an issue at the time when I started there,” he said. “As well as his glutes and lower back.

“But he is very, very strong, and obviously well-built. Players with larger muscle mass can sometimes be more susceptible to injuries. In terms of management, he's got quite a strong base to bowl from, which can really help delay those issues. He is a very hard worker, too.

“He's really aware of that. Over the last couple of years, he had strange niggles - bone breaks in his landing foot - things you can't really control or manage as such. But I don't think he's a guy who needs to bowl too much outside of actual competition. That's the way you need to streamline and manage him.”

With Peters taking the next step in his career after being called up to train with the Capitals in this season’s IPL, Pienaar is confident his protégé can be an asset to any team he plays for.

“He possesses a fierce competitiveness. He's always up for the challenge, and he wants to break games open,” he said.

“The pace he generates in T20 cricket is quite special. He has the ability to break games open, and that's exactly what he's shown over the last few seasons when given the opportunity.”