The Eastern Cape Iinyathi have suffered a double blow with the departures of star bowler Nico Van Zyl and explosive batter Wian Ruthven, joining the Division One Knights.
Both players confirmed with the Dispatch on Sunday they had traded the blue and black colours for the navy and yellow of the Bloemfontein outfit.
The Knights recently qualified for the top flight of SA cricket, and the moves have been described as career development.
The contracting period for the new season started at the beginning of April and will end on May 20.
The Knights’s management described Van Zyl as a high-pace option and a potential back-up for “player of national interest” Tiaan van Vuuren.
Van Zyl was vital in the Iinyathi’s bowling attack. He was the leader and took the new ball in all formats.
Though he did not feature in the T20s due to an injury last season, the 26-year-old tall fast bowler was among the top wicket-takers in the CSA Division Two four-day and one-day competitions.
Van Zyl took 25 wickets in six red-ball matches and was among the top five in the wicket-taker charts.
In the 50-over format, where Iinyathi reached the final only to be beaten by the Knights, the right-arm tall bowler was on top of the list with 21 wickets in nine matches with an average of 16.85.
“Can’t wait to get out there and represent the badge. Huge respect to Border for everything so far. I’ve loved every minute in the jersey,” Van Zyl said.
Teenage batter Ruthven will be missed in Iinyathi’s top order.
The 19-year-old was Iinyathi’s leading batter with the most runs in the four-day tournament, with 458 runs in four matches at an average of 91.69, including three half-centuries and one ton.
The former Waterkloof schoolboy gained attention by scoring a maiden first-class century (194) against the Mpumalanga Rhinos at Buffalo Park.
In the 50-over campaign, he made 175 runs, and in the shorter format of the game also had a relatively good campaign.
The loss of the two players comes hard on the heels of Iinyathi having lost their head coach, Tumelo Bodibe, who is replacing veteran Geoffrey Toyana at Easterns Cricket Union.
Bodibe went to the Eastern Storm in Benoni with a year remaining of a three-year deal, according to reports.
Daily Dispatch
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