SA vs IND | 'Grown-up' Duaane Olivier cherishing return, but aware of 'mixed feelings' among Proteas
It was not a smooth way back for Duanne Oliver after Brexit ended his Kolpak career prematurely and abruptly as the South Africa head coach Mark Boucher asked him to do the hard yards in their “system” instead of welcoming him on the basis of his overseas record and international past.
The right-armer did exactly what he was urged to do and picked up a bagful of wickets in South Africa’s first-class competition to stake claim a place in the 20-man squad for the series against India that the Proteas are looking forward to as a start of a new era.
Oliver’s return could have been delayed if not for an injury to Anrich Nortje, and also a return after leaving the “system” two years back could well be expected to be a bit complex affair for both the Proteas side and himself. The good thing is that the pacer is not expecting a grand and smooth entry either and he is aware of the “mixed feelings” his teammates would have about his move to leave South Africa in the past.
"I know people will have mixed feelings about it, but at the end of the day, it's okay. You handle that and you deal with those pressures or the criticism that comes with that,” Oliver said about his return to the Proteas Test side.
Oliver burst onto the scene for South Africa for his ability to extract bounce from short of good length area and he started off his international career on a promising note with 48 wickets from 10 Tests at staggeirng set of numbers such as an average of 19.25 and strike rate of 30 balls per wicket.
But, the 29-year old believes that stint in the English County Championship for Yorkshire has helped him become “more mature and grown-up”. In terms of bowling, he said that bowling in the UK has helped him add a few more weapons in his armoury as he has become more equipped in bowling the “fuller length” which holds keys to success in the longest format on pitches where there are a lot of assistance for pace bowlers.
"Firstly, I am more mature and a bit more grown up. And from a cricketing point of view, I do genuinely believe I am different. The UK helped me a lot in perfecting that fuller length that every bowler wants to bowl. For me, it was quite difficult because it can come across floaty and I wasn't that consistent. I am still working on it and I am not going to get it right every single time but the three years I spend in the UK helped me immensely, just the way I approach my game. I can still go short if I want to, but at the end of the day, the games dictates that. People thought I only bowl short and fair enough, I did that but now I feel like I have a different element to my game,” he added.
Oliver is likely to form the trio of pacers for South Africa including Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi in the three-match series against India and he would want only the ball to talk for him after a lot of hype and build-up related to his return to the international stage.
 "Mayank Kumar")
