SACricketmag.com’s KHALID MOHIDIN sat down with Cobras and Cape Town Blitz all-rounder George Linde for an in-depth interview.

On Tuesday, the day before the Mzansi Super League draft, Linde spoke openly about the chance to play in the tournament.

The tournament kicks off on 16 November and the 26-year-old expressed his desire to play in the inaugural edition of the MSL T20.

‘The last week or so I thought about it a lot,’ Linde said. ‘I really would love to be in the tournament so I can make a name for myself, but if it’s not meant to be then there’s always next year.’

Fortunately for Linde, the draft went well as Ashwell Prince – along with the Cape Town Blitz panel – showed confidence in his ability by drafting him in round nine.

Linde has been an important figure in the Cobras’ limited-overs set-up, providing balance to the side with his left-hand power hitting and left-arm spin.

On the T20 stage, it’s been his bowling that has stood out, collecting 66 wickets in 61 matches at an average of 21.74 (economy 7.05).

His goal for the new season, however, remains to improve his batting which, ironically, was his strong suit at the start of his career.

‘I started as a batsman and a seam bowler. I made the province U13 team as a seamer, but a week before the tournament started I said, “I’m bowling spin.” They weren’t happy, obviously, but it went well.

‘In high school, I was also more a batsman, but my spinning was starting to come along nicely as time went on,’ said Linde, who described himself as an all-rounder, but with a batting average of 16.18 in 61 T20s, 22.30 in 42 List-A matches and 26.17 in his 40 first-class games, he hopes to improve this aspect of his game.

He showed his batting ability in last season’s Ram Slam T20, finishing as the Cobras’ fourth-highest run-scorer – behind JP Duminy, Hashim Amla and Temba Bavuma – with an average of 35, a strike rate of 143.83 and a high score of 52 not out.

Linde’s journey from Bellville North Primary to becoming a professional cricketer for the Cobras is a story worth hearing (see our video interview with him below) as well as a great lesson for all aspiring cricketers as it illustrates how hard work and dedication to your craft pays off in the long run.