Kyle Verreynne backed to pile on the runs for the Proteas

Cobras coach Ashwell Prince esteems Kyle Verreynne in the top three of all South African batsmen and believes he is ready for Test cricket.

“I don’t just mean young batsmen, I mean all batsmen, including those that played in the recent Test series against Pakistan,” Prince said of Verreynne.

Kyle Verreynne backed to pile on the runs

Verreynne has just four ODIs to his name but is a player who could be on the verge of a massive breakthrough if given his chance in the Caribbean.

South Africa’s Kyle Verreynne bats during the first One Day International cricket match in the three match series South Africa vs Australia at Boland Park Cricket Stadium on February 29, 2020 in Cape Town. (Photo by RODGER BOSCH / AFP)

The Cobras wicketkeeper batsman has been named in all three squads for the winter tours to the West Indies and Ireland and Prince believes he can make an impact batting anywhere in the top six, but feels four or five would be his ideal slot.

“He’ll make runs wherever he’s chosen to play for the Proteas because his biggest strength is his mentality and his can-do attitude, regardless of the situation,” Prince told Sport24.com.

“I think that his best position at the moment would be at four or five [in the batting lineup] as this is what he is most used to at this stage of his career.

Mental strength at the core of Verreynne’s game

Prince feels that an ability to grind out runs and mental strength make Verreynne a hot prospect. Verreynne top-scored for the Cobras in the 4-Day franchise series, but is still waiting to make his Test debut.

“Something that he learnt when he made all those runs is that not everything has to be perfect technically in order to score big runs. The morning of the double hundred he was very irritated in the nets with his timing and shot placement.

‘When he walked out of the net I said to him, “Wouldn’t it be a good day today to score big runs!”. He didn’t fully understand, but the point is that as batsmen we always want to feel as though everything is perfect and the reality is that that’s rarely the case.

‘His biggest strength is his mind and his character. What he offers from a technical perspective is that he keeps things simple and uncomplicated.

PROTEAS TEST SQUAD TO THE WEST INDIES

Dean Elgar (captain, Northerns), Temba Bavuma (vice-captain, Central Gauteng Lions), Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper, Northerns), Sarel Erwee (KwaZulu-Natal Coastal), Beuran Hendricks (Western Province), George Linde (Western Province), Keshav Maharaj (KwaZulu-Natal Coastal), Lungi Ngidi (Northerns), Aiden Markram (Northerns), Wiaan Mulder (Central Gauteng Lions), Anrich Nortje (Eastern Province), Keegan Peterson (KwaZulu-Natal Coastal), Kagiso Rabada (Central Gauteng Lions), Rassie van der Dussen (Central Gauteng Lions), Kyle Verreynne (Western Province), Tabraiz Shamsi (Northerns), Lizaad Williams (Northerns), Prenelan Subrayen (KwaZulu-Natal Coastal), Marco Jansen (Eastern Province).