PARNELL CALLS ON HOME EXPERIENCES TO SHINE IN THE IPL
Wayne Parnell has credited his experience of playing in Paarl for turning out a Player of the Match performance in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
Parnell, who captains the Pretoria Capitals in the Betway SA20, made a stunning comeback to the Royal Challengers Bangalore line-up.
Having missed the last few matches due to the number of overseas players available to RCB – the IPL can only field four overseas players in the same way as the Betway SA20 – Parnell roared back with figures of 3/10 to help rout Rajasthan Royals for just 59 to power Royals Challengers to a 112-run victory.
It was not just any three wickets either with Parnell claiming the all-important scalps of IPL run-machine Jos Buttler, Royals captain Sanju Samson and former England captain Joe Root.
The Jaipur pitch was on the slowish side and Parnell used all his experience of playing in the Western Cape these past few years on a similar surface at Boland Park to his advantage.
“All of our batters had the same message, which was obviously trying to take pace off the ball,” Parnell said.
“It helped that when we came out here we knew exactly what was required and we were able to execute.
“So it was about trying to hit the stumps, keep the stumps in play, which we obviously did, and we fielding very well, which is a sign of where we are as a team.
“It was probably a similar surface to back home in Paarl, it’s a little bit slow and low and a skiddy, trying keep the stumps in play, getting them to play across the line, and that obviously worked.”
Parnell is the epitome of a professional athlete and he claims that one of the key to his success against the Royals was to keep working behind the scenes even when he was not playing in the recent matches.
“I think even when I wasn’t playing, it was about preparing like I was going to be involved at some stage,” he said.
“Anything can happen, it’s a long tournament, niggles happen, there are different surfaces, it’s about being switched on every day.”
