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Corbin Bosch
source: SABC sport (www.sabcsport.com)

It was more than three decades to date, when a Bosch had made his debut for South Africa in their first Test since readmission to the international fold against the mighty West Indies.

His name was Tertius and word has it he was as fast as ‘White Lightning’, the maestro of Protea bowling, Allan Donald if not faster.

Such was the speed this youngster could generate that was truly captivating with more than 200 domestic wickets albeit international cricket could only witness this talent for one Test and a couple of One Day Internationals, having been part of the Protea 1992 World Cup squad.

Yes, unfortunately Tertius could not go on to play more international cricket picking three scalps in the bargain although his love for the game still was very much alive until his untimely death a few years later.

A potential unfulfilled, if one were to ask

Fast forward to the present and another Bosch has made his debut for South Africa in the recently concluded first Test against Pakistan in Tertius’s son Corbin. 

A dream come true for Bosch senior whose unfulfilled legacy has finally resurfaced albeit more than 30 years later. And boy did the son not disappoint as Corbin picked up his maiden 4-for on debut consistently clocking over the 140-mark with the pace and bounce he generated having the Pakistani batters on their toes.

Amongst his wickets were the prized scalps of the Pakistani captain and opener Shaan Masood who was valiantly caught in the slip cordon by Marco Jansen and one of their young upcoming talents in Saud Shakeel who perhaps got undone by a delivery that rose from length down leg, only to glove it to keeper Kyle Verreynne.

If this itself wasn’t a feat worthy of every praise, Bosch also played a masterclass innings with the bat as he carved a mouth-watering 81 of 93 balls when his team was reeling at 191 for 7 which made South Africa post a healthy 301 enroute to mounting a lead of 90 which undoubtedly was gold on the Centurion surface.

Perhaps this knock was so crucial that it also helped South Africa ascend to glory in this Test and soar to the World Test Championship final with capable contributions from Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen who held their nerve in the end to get them over the line.

With this being said, what made these exploits even more heartening was that Corbin became the first South African in red ball cricket to make a 50 plus score and also accomplish a 4-for on debut.

And it showed with the ovation he received from the entire SuperSport Park crowd.

The story which possibly served as the highlight of this debut was his joy-filled mother Karen-Anne, who wept with emotion seeing the dream being fulfilled by her son making the Bosch surname proud.

Truth be told, one shouldn’t be surprised with this feat Corbin has achieved, as he was part of the U19 World Cup winning South African team way back in 2014 under the astute tutelage of fellow compatriot Aiden Markram and since then has been shinning for his domestic franchise, the Titans in domestic cricket as opportunities have been kind on him.

The man has already piled up more than 1200 first class runs at an average north of 40 and has notched up 72 wickets in the 34 matches he has played so far.

So as South Africa unearths yet another all-rounder on the international stage, one would sincerely hope Corbin Bosch gets a consistent run in the Proteas setup as he undeniably has all the tools and talent to be a complete match winner.

In time, we will witness this unfold, but for now, Corbin Bosch has not only honoured the late Tertius, but also earned the admiration of the 64 million Mzansi supporters, who are backing him with every ounce of their passion.

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