Obus Pienaar

A top-order batsman and a handy leggie, he began as a left-arm pacer but suffered a series of injuries and decided to focus on his batting. He has notched up over 5000 runs at the first-class level. Obus Pienaar started off playing domestic cricket for Northerns in 2008 at the age of 18.

His penchant for runs continued and he made his List A debut for Chevrolet Knights franchise and smashed the South African domestic record for the fastest double century. He also holds the record for the highest individual score (244) in NCU Premier League history, eclipsing AB de Villiers' score of 233.

In 2012, he flew to the UK to pursue a career in county cricket for a couple of years and returned back to South Africa for the 2014/15 season, representing the Highveld Lions franchise. Pienaar emerged as one of the prolific run-scorers in that year and decided to shift his base to New Zealand.

In 2017, he has signed up for Cape Town Knight Riders in the Global T20 League.

By Sriram AS