Delport's Caribbean chance

A brief taste of the Big Bash League, an administrative oversight at the 2015 Indian Premier League player auction, and the imminent demise of the Champions League T20 left Cameron Delport longing for more as he headed into this year's Caribbean Premier League.

Delport's hefty strike rate of 280 was the lone highlight in an otherwise dismal CLT20 campaign for Dolphins in 2014. He later secured the attention of Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel during a brief spell with Sydney Thunder in Australia in January this year.

The trip down under amounted to just one match but it offered some consolation in the wake of February's IPL snub.

"Everyone wants to play in the big T20 tournaments around the world - and the Indian Premier League, Big Bash and Champions League Twenty20 are right up there among the biggest," he said.

"I was listed in the 2015 IPL player auction - and it was a big disappointment not to get a call-up. I had filled in all the forms to get myself into the auction. In the end, though, they were running out of time at the auction and only internationally capped players got called back for the second round of auctioning.

"My name wasn't even called out. It was really disappointing. [Dolphins coach] Lance Klusener had been working hard on my behalf, to get me in the mix, but it didn't happen. He was talking to the Mumbai Indians, [Mumbai coach] Ricky Ponting and Rahul Dravid to get me in the mix. Lance was surprised I wasn't bought. He had done so much work talking to them for me. My agent was also fighting for me. But it was not to be in the end."

The 26-year-old Delport's only outing for Sydney Thunder, against Sydney Sixers, proved reasonably successful for him and boasted substantial future value, despite a four-wicket defeat.

It also afforded former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee a fitting franchise farewell. Delport only faced Lee for two deliveries but watched with appreciation from the other end as Jacques Kallis dispatched Lee - and other internationals Sean Abbott, Doug Bollinger and Steve O'Keefe - to and over the fence repeatedly in a 74-run opening alliance the two put on inside nine overs. "He could see I was nervous, but he just ensured the whole experience was enjoyable," Delport said about his senior partner.

"I wanted to get a T20 gig overseas, in Australia, on the back of a decent Champions League T20," Delport, who has an ancestral visa for Australia, said. "I wanted to explore my options over there. Watching the Big Bash from South Africa, it seemed like an amazing experience, so when opportunity knocked I jumped at the chance.

"It was very nerve-wracking flying over there, in business class, with four player-manager types waiting on you. During the actual cricket, it was a superb experience playing with Jacques. Learning from him, gaining experience from him, just feeding off him - that was great. He just knows how to deal with pressure time and time again. He also showed me how to find balance between playing cricket and life - it's not all just cricket, cricket, cricket.

"Jacques is also contracted to Trinidad & Tobago, so I'm eager to pick up on that relationship again." Indeed, in his first game in the CPL - a washout in St Lucia - Delport opened with Kallis to chase 180, but did not face a ball before the match was called off.

"This time, in the CPL, it will be a full, proper contract," Delport said. "I should be playing about 10 games - for the full experience. This will be real business, not just one game here and there. I hope to do well, playing with guys like Dwayne Bravo and Johan Botha too, and see what comes of it from there."

The aggressive left-hander failed to gain selection for South Africa's latest T20 international squad, which features several relatively new names like Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris, Eddie Leie and Beuran Hendricks, and arguably should have accommodated Delport too.

Deemed surplus to requirements for June's tour of Bangladesh, he is content to keep the new-look national selection panel - led by Linda Zondi (also from KwaZulu Natal, like Delport) - mindful of his increasing worth ahead of New Zealand's visit for five limited-overs games in Durban, Centurion and Potchefstroom.

"I take plenty of example from guys like Morne van Wyk, Faf du Plessis and Rilee Rossouw," Delport said. "I look at how Faf started as a T20 cricketer and then ended up captaining the T20 International team. He went from T20s to ODIs and then on to Test cricket. He was dropped by the Titans once upon a time, and Rilee was sidelined by the Knights at a stage too. Look at them now, though, doing well on the international stage.

"If I do well in the CPL, the national selectors will see me - a domestic cricketer doing well in a tournament of such great calibre - in a new light. It gets me excited and makes me want it more. I want to work that much harder for it. Perhaps South Africa will stick with the same T20I squad they are taking to Bangladesh for the New Zealand series. But maybe they won't and I will get a chance."

If Zondi and company are not suitably impressed come early August, a stint in England's t20 Blast might beckon for the attacking opening batsman, whose regular right-arm seam would also be a welcome addition to an Outlaws attack labouring through the temperamental form and fitness of Australian recruit Ben Hilfenhaus, and the loss of the services of the West Indies allrounder Darren Sammy (who has been replaced in the side by Daniel Christian).

"Nottinghamshire were keen to sign me, but the t20 Blast in England is pretty much on at the same time as the CPL," Delport said. "They are going to have a look at how things are going for them toward the end of the CPL and I might still get in there. I have the visa, so I could fly straight to England and play."