"I really wanted to work with Ashwell Prince"

Tony de Zorzi’s rise to one of South Africa’s most promising young batsman was something straight out of a movie script.

Born and bred in Johannesburg, De Zorzi represented his provincial side at an U13, U15, U17, and U19 level, captaining Gauteng at the Khaya Majola ‘Çoke Week’ in 2015 after 3 years of 1st team cricket at one of South Africa’s most elite sporting schools King Edwards.

As if those accomplishments were not enough, De Zorzi was not only selected for the South African U19 squad to travel to Bangladesh for the 2016 World Cup, but was awarded the captaincy of what I consider to be one of the strongest U19 squads we’ve produced which included current Proteas Kyle Verreynne, Lutho Sipamla, and Wiaan Mulder.

In 2016, De Zorzi made the short move to Pretoria to further his education by attending Tuks University where he would catch the eye of the Northerns selectors with some handy knocks for his club and varsity.

Still in his teens at the time, one might think that the step from varsity and club cricket to semi-professional cricket might have been a step too far but De Zorzi took to it like a duck to water, averaging 79.20 in his first season of 3-day cricket for Northerns and earning himself a Franchise debut in both the 4-day and 50 over format for the Titans.

There was no looking back for him thereafter with de Zorzi, who seemed to take a liking to the 50 over format, ending his 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons with an average of 52, 50.5 and 47.9 respectively and all but cementing his place at the top of the order for the Titans in the format.

Initially, de Zorzi found himself unable to project his 50 over and semi-pro performances in the 4-day format with his 2017/18 and 2018/19 numbers not reflecting the potential and skill that we’ve come to see from him.

“It’s obviously a lot tougher playing at a franchise level,” De Zorzi said exclusively to Cricket Fanatics Magazine.

“You need to be a lot more patient because you won’t get as many loose deliveries from the bowlers.”

Having said that, De Zorzi, still at the tender age of 22, was instrumental in the Titans’ 2nd place finish in this years CSA 4-day tournament as he finished the season with an average of 50 which included a mammoth 213* against the Cape Cobras (which I was fortunate enough to watch).

This moves us on to addressing the elephant in the room.

You might be asking yourself: “Why would he move to the Cobras after the season he’s just had?”

The answer is quite simple really.

“I really wanted to work with Ashwell Prince,” said De Zorzi confidently. “He’s played at the highest level and he knows what it takes to be successful at that level, especially as a batsman.

“He’s straightforward, and I like that. I’ve seen a lot of youngsters like Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne, Zubayr Hamza and Jason Smith excel under his coaching. The Cobras squad is a young one with a lot of exciting talent and I’d like to be part of that team culture.”

When probed about any animosity between himself and the Titans, De Zorzi put those claims to bed immediately.

‘’I really enjoyed my time at the Titans. I got to play with some incredible cricketers, particularly under Albie Morkel who remains the best captain I’ve ever played under’’.

De Zorzi did, however, go on to mention that he often felt that it was tough to feel part of the team and that he often “felt like an outsider looking in” and that it was a “tough team environment to get into given the number of players and captains coming in and out of the side”.

When asked about any short term goals he may have or whether he has his eye on a potential SA ‘A’ or Proteas call up in the near future, he very humbly and maturely mentioned that a national call up was not in his hands and that what he was focused solely on scoring runs and trying to help the Cobras win trophies.

With all that said and done, I don’t believe it would be unfair for me to say that the Cobras obviously did not have the greatest of seasons which could undoubtedly be exacerbated by the loss of some senior players in Rory Kleinveldt and Dane Piedt as well as the young but ever-talented David Bedingham and Thando Ntini.

However, with the likes of Pieter and Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne, Zubayr Hamza, Jason Smith, Tony de Zorzi, George Linde, Nandre Burger and Dane Paterson, the Cobras do give the impression of a young but highly talented squad that is brimming with potential.

All in all, I believe that for a young player who has the potential to play international cricket like Tony de Zorzi, making the decision to play under Ashwell Prince was a very smart move.

He was an exceptional player and he is an exceptional coach who has a reputation for backing his youngsters and giving them enough time to grow and develop their game, the single most important quality in a cricket coach in my opinion.