Wayne Parnell unsure about his role in the Proteas set-up

Fresh from his stint in the Caribbean Premier League, Wayne Parnell is gearing up for some red-ball cricket. Despite making his Test debut in 2010, Parnell has managed to win just 5 Test caps for his country. But after producing career-best figures in his last appearance in the white fennels, Parnell failed to win a place in the squad for the England Tests.

The left-arm quick bowler returned with match figures of 6/89, including a haul of 4/51 in the second essay, in the Johannesburg Test against Sri Lanka in January this year. His performance, however, won him a spot in the squad to travel to New Zealand but he did not play any of the three Tests on the tour. He subsequently lost his spot for the England tour which had a lot to do with Morne Morkel deemed fit for the series. The Bangladesh series will kick off soon but Parnell isn’t sure where he exactly fit in in the scheme of things.

“Coming into this series against Bangladesh, I am not sure where I fit into that. Not sure of what’s going to happen there. Why I was left out of the England squad, I also don’t know there is a new coach now also, so we need to see how it unfolds,” Parnell said.

Parnell might get opportunity in absence of Steyn, Morkel

Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn are unlikely to play the home series against the Asian side which gives a window of opportunity to Parnell. The Sunfoil series matches will start soon and Parnell is looking forward to feature in them with an objective of proving himself. The incoming coach – Ottis Gibson – will arrive in the country on Monday and will closely follow the proceedings.

Parnell skipped a South Africa ‘A’ series which was played against India ‘A’ as he thought he was better off playing some T20 game sin the CPL. Playing for Barbados Tridents, Parnell picked 11 sticks from 10 games at an economy rate of 8.06. The 28-year old faces stiff competition with Chris Morris and Duanne Olivier, both of whom lrgely struggled in the England series.

“Personally, I felt 50-over games weren’t really going to benefit me. I felt that playing in a T20 competition against international cricketers from all over the world would benefit my game more. Obviously, going back there after doing well for them last year, I just wanted to replicate that and challenge myself against proper opposition and playing in front of decent crowds as well,” Parnell explained.

“I am feeling good, feeling strong. I’ve put a lot of work in at the gym while I was in the Caribbean. Most people have probably seen me chilling on the beach on my off-days, but that was after putting in three/four hours of training. I am looking forward to starting with the Sunfoil Series this week.”