After missing Proteas team bus, better late than never for delighted Linde

For someone looking to make a good first impression, that George Linde forced the team bus travelling to Kingsmead for Tuesday’s first T20 with Pakistan to stop and wait for him to board will not have gone down well with his teammates. 

Fortunately Linde made up for that tardiness. An innings of 48 off 24 balls, followed by figures of 4/21, proved instrumental in securing the Proteas just their third T20 International win in a bilateral series this year. 

Linde, who last played an international in 2021, had quite the adventure before the match.

“For some reason, my phone was 15 minutes behind. I thought at 4pm, I’d walk down and get into the bus nice and early — and as I got out, there the bus was leaving. That feeling was ... not great,” Linde said. 

A kind member of the SAPS — part of the crew that escorts teams and officials to the venue — offered Linde a ride. Having caught up with the bus, there was another weird moment for the player.

“No-one realised I was not on the bus. I would have still made a plan to get [to the ground]. I’d already made sure Uber was ready for me, but then the police said to go with them.” 

The overall experience, he said, was embarrassing. It could yet lead to an internal fine from his teammates after the series — whether financial or by way of consuming an awful liquid concoction — but on Tuesday night they didn’t mind.

“I reckon for the next game I might be late again,” Linde chirped.

Tuesday’s 11-run victory over Pakistan was, as stand-in skipper Heinrich Klaasen described, far from perfect, but the relief for a team that has battled to get T20 wins was palpable. South Africa have used the T20 format this year to give international experience to some newer and younger faces, while resting the bigger names to have them ready for more important events, like the Test matches. 

Temba Bavuma’s side completed a vital 2-0 series win against Sri Lanka a little more than 24 hours before the first ball was bowled at Kingsmead, which highlighted perfectly the challenging nature of modern schedules.

So while half the starters from this year’s World Cup final weren’t available, the next tier of talent rocked, reeled but ultimately rolled in front of a tense Kingsmead crowd.

Linde was pivotal. For years he’s been flagged as potential white-ball saviour for the Proteas because he bats with power and bowls with control, but for reasons he can’t explain — and various selectors and coaches couldn’t either — he never got the opportunity to consistently display his wares. 

“I’ve been through a tough time, but the last year has been really good. I feel I deserve this opportunity, I think it came at the right time,” he said. 

“I struggled for a year or two, it was one of those things. Luckily I had a long break away from cricket in the winter, just to get away from the game and I think that helped me a lot.

“It brought that fire back. I always hoped I’d come back to the Proteas, but if it wasn’t the case then so be it. But I gave myself the best shot, through training, gym work, everything.”

All that effort was needed because the Proteas found themselves in trouble early — slumping to 28/3 in the fourth over — wobbling just after the halfway mark — when David Miller’s exquisite knock of 82 ended in the 14th over before Linde engineered a late ascension to get them to 183/9. 

With the ball, the hosts were largely on top until Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan smashed 24 runs off Kwena Mapahaka in the 17th over, but then Linde picked up three wickets in the 18th to halt their momentum.

“It’s up there with one of the best T20 games I’ve played,” Linde said. 

“I felt I don't have to prove anything to anyone. I believe in myself and in my skills, and if it doesn’t happen on the day, it wasn’t meant to be. But I know how hard I worked for this opportunity.”