The qualified success Reeza Hendricks experienced with the Proteas during their Zimbabwe ODI experiment was far from the downer he went through with the Highveld Lions in the four-day scene.
Having scored a 50 in SA's four-wicket win in the third ODI in Paarl last week, cricket humbled Hendricks in some way as the Lions fell to a three-day innings defeat against the Cape Cobras on Wednesday.
Hendricks, who scored a series-winning ton on his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in August, made 41 and 13.
His first-innings effort at the Wanderers wasn't only the top score, but contributed 39% of the Lions' pathetic 104.
However, it's his work in coloured clothing and not his red-ball cricket that made selectors look in his direction.
The 29-year-old Hendricks isn't fazed by the heavy traffic he finds himself in. There's plenty of top-order competition outside of the established Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis triumvirate.
"You know you can't look ahead of yourself because there's so much competition. When you get the opportunity, you have to try and take it because that's what you ask for. When they're there, you have to take them. One can't forget there's a lot of competition," Hendricks said.
For a player who made a duck in his international T20 bow against Australia just under four years ago, Hendricks has been on the domestic scene since 2006. He made his first-class and List A debuts for Northern Cape (then Griqualand-West) that year before cracking the franchise T20 nod for the Knights (then the Eagles) in 2009.
Hendricks made 95 on his first-class debut, the first of 46 50-plus scores in red-ball cricket. Statistically, he's had more success in the shorter formats with a better average (36 in List A and T20; 33 in first-class) but the number of sixes he's hit in the different formats tell the story.
In first-class cricket, according to espncricinfo, he's cleared the boundary 44 times and in List A and T20 forms, he hit 62 and 46 maximums respectively. With England leading the way with their muscular approach to the game, nudgers and nurdlers are on their way out.
Hendricks hasn't quite found himself a niche but is comfortable with where his game is currently.
"Everyone has different strengths but it helps being in the top order because I feel batting against the ball is my strength. Once I get in, I feel I can bat reasonably well against spin but it's different for everybody," Hendricks said.
"The Zimbabwe series was a mixed bag, especially with how the wickets played in the first two ODIs. At least in the third ODI, the wicket was decent and there was some decent enough cricket that was played but it's difficult to judge progress on that series. The team did do well, but we can't judge on that one."
Australia looms on the horizon next month as the ODI trial window narrows to 13 fixtures. For those who could miss that bus when Pakistan and Sri Lanka are in town next year, there's still next year's Momentum 1-Day Cup.
It'll take place between February 8 and March 31 next year but Hendricks isn't looking too far ahead of himself. He's been a reasonably consistent but not a stand-out performer with 396, 312, 245 and 325 runs collected for the Lions and the Knights in the past four campaigns.
"The tournament's timing is crucial because it's close to the World Cup and guys want to do well and put their names in the hat. It's not just going to be crucial for the guys who want to get into selection reckoning, but those who also need time," Hendricks said.
"Australia are a good side and going over to Australia would be challenging. They've always been there and thereabout winning trophies but it's going to be a good challenge if I'm selected to go."..