Onke Nyaku hopes to play a “simplified” role within the Cape Cobras set-up as he makes a possible career-defining move to the outfit ahead of the 2020/21 season, writes Marc Jacobson.

Nyaku, who was schooled at Selborne College in East London, has plied his trade with Eastern Province and the Warriors since making his first-class debut in 2014.

Useful with both bat and ball, the 25-year-old hopes to fill a pivotal void at the Western Cape franchise, which is to be an influential team player in all facets of the game.

“I’m looking to contribute a substantial amount with the bat and I’d like to simplify it as much as I can,” Nyaku explained when speaking to Cricket Fanatics Magazine.

“I want to bat in six or seven, maybe eight at the lowest, and I would like to take the team over the line, carry my bat and get as many ‘not outs’ as possible.

“With the ball, I’d like to be the option where the captain can rely on me to get the big fish out. I want to be able to show them what I can do.

“I want to be very ‘all-round’, bring the balance to the team and contribute as much as I can, even if it’s that extra five per cent to help us win more games – and maybe trophies.”

He added that he’d also like to hone his overall skills within the different team environment and from his new teammates.

“I’m really excited about the change in the environment of Cape Town and I’m looking forward to playing with different players and learning from them and the different coaching systems.

“I played with Zubayr Hamza growing up so I’m definitely looking forward to playing with him. I would also like to learn how a guy like Pieter Malan goes about his thought processes when it comes to batting.

“I also have a few mates [at the Cobras], such as Nandre Burger, who I played with at the national academy and for the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants last year.”

Corbin Bosch, a fellow all-rounder who will make his switch to the Cobras from the Titans, was another player Nyaku mentioned as someone he’d like to learn much from.

“He’s also new and he’s an all-rounder as well so it will be quite nice for us to perhaps learn from each other. I’m looking forward to that.”

Nyaku was a menacing servant for EP and the Warriors over the last several seasons, having racked up 40 first-class caps, 47 List A appearances and 39 T20 outings for the union, all of which he’d advanced with both bat and ball.

His highlights included scoring a century for EP against Free State in the 2016/17 season, after having undertaken a “different role”, as well as having been part of that same team to win the T20 Africa Cup the same year.

“As a young player, I got to learn quite a lot from the likes of Jon-Jon Smuts, Colin Ackermann, Sisanda Magala and Anrich Nortje – just to name a few.

“I got to experience what those guys brought to the table,” he said, adding that his subsequent debut for the Warriors franchise side last year also cast light on to his young career to date.

Fittingly, it was against his new team, the Cobras in Paarl, and he was tasked, at one moment, of making his breakthrough with the ball.

“Jon-Jon just gave the ball to me and told me to back my skills. He told me I’d worked hard to get there and that I must just carry on doing what I had been doing.

“Eventually, I managed to get Hamza out and yet he had just been called up to the Proteas at that stage. That was a big kind of achievement for me heading into that season.”

Although having been on the wrong side of the result, Nyaku noted that another highlight was when he formed part of the Warriors side that lost to the Lions in the CSA T20 Challenge final at Wanderers last year.

“It was a great game to be a part of and it was an outstanding achievement for the Warriors,” he added.

Nyaku’s zeal for cricket started way back since he was in pre-school, where he would listen to the radio – as he’d no access to television – and had “heard a lot about Makhaya Ntini”.

“Then there was a picture day at my school where I wore my then Proteas kit,” he continued. “That’s where the passion started and from then on I’d say Makhaya Ntini was someone who was iconic in me developing that passion of playing cricket.”

Having had two older brothers growing up, Nyaku played backyard-type cricket at home, before starting to play competitively with a soft ball in mini cricket, at under-8 and under-9 age levels.

“Fortunately, because I was very competitive after having played a lot with my older brothers, I was pushed up to the under-10 side at the age of eight where we played with a hard ball.

“That helped me a lot to focus on cricket and develop my skills from a young age.”

When the turn of high school took its course, Nyaku’s older brothers went to East London’s Stirling High School, while he, after much ascendency, was offered a sport’s bursary to attend the prestigious Selborne where he continued to excel.

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