Bright future predicted for Kruger

Like Ashwell Prince, Robin Peterson and Shafiek Abrahams, Garnett Kruger made his way to first-class cricket along the dusty roads Gelvandale, a coloured township north of Port Elizabeth.

Kruger, now 23, had his first introduction to the game through the Bakers mini-cricket progamme. Formal, organised cricket started at Gelvandale High School where he came under the influence of Claude Simon.

Simon taught him the basics of fast bowling and, just as importantly, lit Kruger's dream of playing for his country. "Go for you dream, Mr Simon told me," says Kruger.

Kruger played no representative cricket at school, but the ambition remained and after finishing his education he joined Gelvandale Cricket Club where he met the man who finally recognised his talent - West Indian all-rounder Eldine Baptiste.

Baptiste took Kruger along to the Eastern Province nets at St George's Park and the rest is history.

Kruger initially struggled to adapt to the demands of the first-class game, but hard work and support and encouragement from EP coach Adrian Birrell paid off.

Within a year Kruger was playing for the Jumbos and although his career is still in its infancy, he can already boast first-class best figures of seven for 49 against Border and a one-day return of six for 23 against North West.

Kruger missed out on selection for the SA A tour to the West Indies in September 2000, his biggest disappointment to date, but he isn't too fazed about this and believes his hard work will pay off in the long term.

Kruger is currently a student at the Plascon Academy. He says he has really enjoyed his time under head coach Hylton Ackerman whose knowledge of the game "is out of this world. Hylton makes you think and analyse the game on a completely different level. I've also enjoyed working on my batting".

Ackerman calls Kruger the joker in the pack: "Garnet's an extremely positive character with the ability to lift everyone around him. He works very hard at his game and he could go a long way."

Birrell says Kruger has all the attributes, mental and physical, to go all the way to the top.

Like all connected with South African cricket, Kruger has been shaken by the match-fixing scandal and the revelations at the King commission of inquiry. "The whole affair has been very sobering. For me it is reaffirmed the age-old lesson that no one is bigger than the game and that cricket should be treated with respect."

With such a calm and wise head on his young shoulder, it is not difficult to see why so many knowledgeable cricketers predict a bright future for the young man from Port Elizabeth.