Exclusive: Proteas Star Corbin Bosch on ‘Dream’ Rise and Being Compared to Jacques Kallis

Proteas fast bowler Corbin Bosch has had a career changing eight months where he went from being just another domestic player to being an international superstar. The 30-year-old opens up about the last eight to 12 months and how his life has changed.

The big break

Corbin Bosch's career is an excellent template for the rewards that life channel your way when you refuse to give up on your goals.

Bosch was in the same Under-19 World Cup winning South Africa team opening the bowling with Kagiso Rabada and bowling serious speeds at a young age.

However, post that World Cup, his career simply did not take off as fast as Rabada's. In fact, his career took an almost opposite trajectory to Rabada's and some of his SA Under-19 teammates, including Aiden Markram, who also made his Test debut a few years after the 2014 Under-19 World Cup.

He struggled to solidify his spot in the Titans' side and found himself playing semi-professional cricket longer than he and everyone in the country would have expected.

His career was filled with many challenges, so much so that he moved to Australia at one point as things back at home in South Africa refused to fall into place for him.

To an extent, the delays in his career were somehow warranted. Bosch struggled with consistency with ball in hand in domestic cricket, often bowling extras and lacking the consistency needed to make a big enough impact in domestic cricket.

However, when Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje were ruled out of the home summer, coach Shukri Conrad needed an out-and-out fast bowler in his starting XI alongside Rabada to keep the Pakistan batters at bay in the bouncy wicket at SuperSport Park. The only logical option was Bosch as he has long proved himself to have the ability to bowl 90 mph with relative ease.

The 30-year-old would go on to claim a four-wicket haul on debut and score 81 in the first innings of that Test, helping the Proteas secure a spot in the final of the World Test Championship.

From there on in, the fast bowler has gone on to win the SA20 with the MI Cape Town, became a regular in the Mumbai Indians side in the Indian Premier League and was included in the Proteas side for the WTC final at Lord's.

Most recently, the 30-year-old has taken his game to the next level, scoring his maiden century in his Test in Bulawayo against Zimbabwe and claiming a maiden five-wicket haul to help the Proteas secure a 329-run victory.

In an exclusive interview, Bosch told SportsBoom.co.za that he still needs to pinch himself to confirm that he is not dreaming.

"I was actually speaking to my mum about it the other day. I still need to pinch myself that everything is real."

"As you said, I pretty much had a magical seven-month to 12-month period," Bosch told SportsBoom.co.za.

"I played some really, really good cricket, but I've surrounded myself with some fantastic people who have just guided me and pushed me."

"Even when times were tough, I knew that eventually, when I got the opportunity, I was going to try and grab it with both hands. Fortunately for me, the rub of the green has gone my way thus far, and hopefully it may continue."

All-round abilities

With Bosch having taken a five-wicket and scored a century in the same Test match, he became the first South Africa Test cricketer to do so since 2002 when the great Jacques Kallies achieved the same feat against Bangladesh.

South African cricket has been in constant search for another 'Jacques Kallis', and though it is hard to foresee there ever being a player like Kallis in cricket, Bosch's achievement brings hope in a country that got used to watching Kallis do his thing for decades for the Proteas.

Bosch opened up to SportsBoom.co.za, citing that it is special being mentioned in the same sentence as Kallis, a former player that he views as the Greatest Of All Time - GOAT.

Bosch said that he saw the stat immediately after the victory over Zimbabwe on his instagram page.

"I did manage to see it. I think it was all over my page at one stage, but it's super special. Again, I haven't come to grip with it quite yet," said Bosch.

"I don't think it's sunk in, but again, it's just an honour to be mentioned in the same conversation as Jacques. Obviously, we know he was pretty much the GOAT of cricket in South Africa, so it's just an honour just to be mentioned in the same sentence."