Charl Langeveldt

For much of the early part of his career, Charl Langeveldt combined his first-class cricket with his job as a prison warder at Drakenstein prison, not far from the headquarters of Boland cricket, his provincial home, a short drive north of Cape Town. Langeveldt first came to prominence with his ability to swing the ball at genuine pace, and further work on his action in recent seasons allowed him to generate even more movement, bringing him to the attention of the national selectors. He made his one-day international debut against Kenya in Kimberley in 2001-02, taking two top-order wickets. He followed that with career-best figures of 4 for 21 when the two sides met for a second time at Newlands shortly afterwards. Langeveldt was included in South Africa's 15-man squad for their ill-starred World Cup campaign in 2003, playing only in the pool match against Kenya. He returned to favour when South Africa experienced a dramatic slump in the middle of 2004, taking 3 for 31 in Sri Lanka and then, in perhaps his most impressive spell so far, 3 for 17 against Bangladesh in the ICC Champions Trophy.

He returned in style again against England at Newlands in 2004-05, breaking his hand batting on his return but taking 5 for 46. It was enough to win him selection for the series in the Caribbean which followed. It was in this series that Langeveldt came into his own. In the third one-day match in Barbados, he produced one of the most sensational finales in one-day international history, plucking a hat-trick out of thin air to steal a one-run victory over West Indies and giving his team a series victory. After a disappointing tour of India and Australia, Langeveldt did not play against Australia at home. He was recalled for the Champions Trophy, however, after some impressive domestic performances. Looked well below par in back-to-back ODI series appearances against India and Pakistan at home, but was included in South Africa's 15-man squad for the World Cup. With memories of his previous success in West Indies, Langeveldt enjoyed a successful tournament with his brand of late reverse swing being particularly effective. He finished as the team's joint leading wicket-taker but will continue to face stiff competition from the array of pace bowling options around him. In March 2008 Langeveldt, absent from the Test side since early 2006, opted out of a three-Test series in India, upset by the controversy surrounding his selection for the tour to India. His inclusion ahead of Andre Nel was seen by many as pandering to Cricket South Africa's transformation policy. In April 2008, he signed a two-year contract with Derbyshire as a Kolpak player and the doubts over his international future increased after this decision. The following year, the Kolkata Knight Riders came calling with an IPL contract but, rather strangely, he was benched till their final match where he performed creditably.
Neil Manthorp May 2009