Professional Details
| Role | Batter |
| Bats | left handed . middle order |
| Bowls | right-arm medium . Faster |
Teams played for
Cape Cobras South Africa A South African Invitation XI South Africa Sussex Chittagong Vikings Cumilla Warriors
Personal Details
| Name | Stiaan van Zyl |
| Gender | Male |
| Birth | 19 Sep 1987 |
| Birth Place | Cape Town |
| Height | 6ft |
| Nationality | South African |
Stiaan van Zyl is a solid left-handed batter who is blessed with a compact technique and temperament like mine-diffuser. Born in Cape Town, van Zyl jeopardized his South Africa ambitions, after winning 12 Test caps, when he signed a Kolpak deal with Sussex CCC in 2017. However, four years later, he bid adieu to the club when the South African could not return to Hove post the coronavirus pandemic. ... continue reading
Stiaan van Zyl is a solid left-handed batter who is blessed with a compact technique and temperament like mine-diffuser. Born in Cape Town, van Zyl jeopardized his South Africa ambitions, after winning 12 Test caps, when he signed a Kolpak deal with Sussex CCC in 2017. However, four years later, he bid adieu to the club when the South African could not return to Hove post the coronavirus pandemic.
The Cape Town-born is as classical as any other elegant top-order batsman and his cover drives were touted to be the best from his primary days. van Zyl, although, began playing the sport as a medium-pacer but later gripped the bat for good. He made his first-class debut for Boland in the SAA Provincial Challenge and used to play games when Graeme Smith or Robin Peterson were absent.
The left-hander remained a regular in the national reserves but it was not until the 2012-13 season when he finished second on the domestic competition run-scorers list. When heavyweights like Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis hung up their boots, and van Zyl topped the charts, selectors could not ignore the promising southpaw.
The South African made his Test debut against the West Indies in 2014 at SuperSport Park in Centurion, scoring a century, when he became the 100th batsman to score a century on debut in Test cricket. Van Zyl played 12 Test matches to score 395 runs and scalps six wickets before he abandoned his South Africa ambitions to sign a Kolpak contract with Sussex in 2017.
At Hove, the Protea signed a three-year contract. The first season with the club was ordinary for the batter and he had a lean 2018 summer, which was curtailed by a serious knee injury, but returned to form the following season as he finished as Sussex's leading run-scorer. However, he missed the whole of 2020 because of the pandemic, which severely limited travel options.
Now, van Zyl has returned to play for his home club in Cape Town, as the experienced batter was named in Boland's squad for the 2021 domestic season in South Africa.
(As of August 2021)