Marchant de Lange

A pacer capable of clocking 90 mph quite frequently, Marchant de Lange is a professional cricketer for the South African national team who has had limited opportunities at the international level thanks to the Proteas team filled with fast-bowling talents. 

A year after making his first-class debut, de Lange was fast-tracked to the South African national team for their Test series against Sri Lanka. He made his debut in the boxing day Test on December 26th, 2011. Replacing the injured Vernon Philander, the pacer took 7-81, the third-best debut figure for a South African at that time, and later took 4-46 on his ODI debut against the Blackcaps. 

However, de Lange’s international career didn’t take off as expected as injuries and the availabilities of infinite fast-bowlers in the rainbow nation have made his comeback doubtful. Part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad in 2012 and Mumbai Indians squad in 2014, he hardly got any opportunity to showcase his skills in the cash-rich league. 

The Limpopo-born pacer penned down a two-year contract with Somerset before the start of the 2020 season and will serve in all formats as an overseas player. De Lange’s ability to swing the bowl at a rapid pace earned him a place in Trent Rockets in the inaugural edition of The Hundred. Despite limited chances at the highest level, we can never rule out a comeback as he can be potentially demolishing in the limited-overs format.

(As of August 2021)