Kleinveldt can't wait to debut

Rory Kleinveldt, the Cape Cobras allrounder, wants to make full use of his "surprise" call-up to South Africa's squad for one-off Twenty20 match against Bangladesh in November.

Kleinveldt and Ryan McLaren, the Eagles allrounder, were the new faces in South Africa's squads named for their upcoming home series against Kenya and Bangladesh. Both played county cricket in England on Kolpak contracts but Kleinveldt played only one match for Hampshire in July before he was selected in South Africa's preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy.

"I've been waiting six years for this," Kleinveldt told SAPA. "Mickey [Arthur] said he'll tell me what my role will be when the squad assembles." He credited his improved fitness to the training regime during his brief spell in England. "The weight loss - about 10 kilograms - just came about because of the hard work there and now I know what is required to maintain a really good physical condition," said Kleinveldt, who, over the years, struggled to keep his weight down. "The playing standards on the county circuit are about the same as here in South Africa but the whole set-up in English domestic cricket is so much more advanced.

"There were several specialist coaches around and they work with you all the time so one can really develop and work on problem areas. Even when the weather was bad there were really good indoor facilities so one never lost out on training time, unlike here in South Africa."

Kleinveldt said Twenty20 was a skill-oriented game where it was not always possible to stick to bowling line and length. "You must be able offer a change of pace and you have to be able to bowl a good yorker as well. If I can contribute in a positive way with the bat then so be it," he said. "Pro20 is a bit of a lottery - you have to work a lot on your skills, different skills, and one should always have lots of options." Kleinveldt's bowling average is 27.41 and batting strike-rate is 165.76 from 28 Twenty20 matches.

Since Shaun Pollock's retirement from international cricket earlier this year, South Africa have been looking for an allrounder to fill the void, especially in limited-overs games. But Kleinveldt said he didn't want to be put in the same category as Pollock. "He's a legend and has done superbly for South African cricket for 10 years. I'm playing my first game on November 5, so lets see how that goes."