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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – Proteas left-arm seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe has had a rough old time of it in his maiden exposure to county cricket for Essex thus far ... but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The 27-year-old Warriors man is not the first and will not be the last South African bowler to battle to acclimatise initially to the different demands of English pitches, where “banging it in” as one does back home fails to bring great reward; fuller lengths tend to be required on softer pitches and in often significantly cooler and more overcast weather.
Tsotsobe, who joined the Chelmsford-based side a couple of weeks into the 2011 season after playing in the World Cup, has found the going harsh in the four-day County Championship.
His two matches, against Glamorgan and Northamptonshire, have seen him net just four wickets at a cost of 282 runs and unflattering average of 70.50.
This included a particularly thankless, expensive stint of 27-0-154-2 when Northants amassed a total well in excess of 500 in their lone innings of a drawn encounter.
There was further discomfort for the tall, Port Elizabeth-born customer when he made his first appearance in the CB40 (40-overs-a-side) competition – he was carted for 73 runs in eight overs although he did earn two wickets for his troubles.
But his most recent Essex game in that format, on Monday, saw him bounce back to a good degree: he is respected, after all, for his ability and willingness to learn, a key reason why he has settled satisfyingly into the Proteas squad at both Test and one-day level to defy his early knockers.
“Lopsy” grabbed four for 43 at Chelmsford as Essex beat Lancashire by seven wickets, and afterwards earned praise from captain James Foster.
Foster was quoted by BBC Sport as saying: “He is finding his feet now. He’s looking in good health. He bowled exceptionally well and it was difficult to go after him.”
Tsotsobe starting to get used to the English environment is good news for the Proteas’ cause, as they are due to tour that country again in 2012, so his learning curve in the interim at Essex is a valuable exercise.
Cape Town – Proteas left-arm seamer Lonwabo Tsotsobe has had a rough old time of it in his maiden exposure to county cricket for Essex thus far ... but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The 27-year-old Warriors man is not the first and will not be the last South African bowler to battle to acclimatise initially to the different demands of English pitches, where “banging it in” as one does back home fails to bring great reward; fuller lengths tend to be required on softer pitches and in often significantly cooler and more overcast weather.
Tsotsobe, who joined the Chelmsford-based side a couple of weeks into the 2011 season after playing in the World Cup, has found the going harsh in the four-day County Championship.
His two matches, against Glamorgan and Northamptonshire, have seen him net just four wickets at a cost of 282 runs and unflattering average of 70.50.
This included a particularly thankless, expensive stint of 27-0-154-2 when Northants amassed a total well in excess of 500 in their lone innings of a drawn encounter.
There was further discomfort for the tall, Port Elizabeth-born customer when he made his first appearance in the CB40 (40-overs-a-side) competition – he was carted for 73 runs in eight overs although he did earn two wickets for his troubles.
But his most recent Essex game in that format, on Monday, saw him bounce back to a good degree: he is respected, after all, for his ability and willingness to learn, a key reason why he has settled satisfyingly into the Proteas squad at both Test and one-day level to defy his early knockers.
“Lopsy” grabbed four for 43 at Chelmsford as Essex beat Lancashire by seven wickets, and afterwards earned praise from captain James Foster.
Foster was quoted by BBC Sport as saying: “He is finding his feet now. He’s looking in good health. He bowled exceptionally well and it was difficult to go after him.”
Tsotsobe starting to get used to the English environment is good news for the Proteas’ cause, as they are due to tour that country again in 2012, so his learning curve in the interim at Essex is a valuable exercise.
