Former Proteas wicketkeeper-batsman Dane Vilas has reflected on a brief international career, which yielded six Tests and one T20I.

Vilas played a solitary T20I against India at the Wanderers in Johannesburg in 2012. Three years later, he welcomed a Test debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka. He added five more Tests against India and England before pursuing a Kolpak contract with Lancashire in the United Kingdom.

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‘I always said I would have loved to have played for my country a bit longer, but unfortunately things didn’t work out for me,’ he commented. ‘I had a young superstar, Quinton de Kock, who was coming through. You just have to look at where he is at the moment: an absolute legend of a player, and doing so well,’ said Vilas.

‘But I was always desperate to come and play county cricket, and to be part of a big club like Lancashire has been a dream come true. It’s been a great move for me and also for my family.’

Vilas, who captained the Jozi Stars to the inaugural Mzansi Super League title in 2018 before moving to the Durban Heat for the 2019 tournament, recently returned from a stint with the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.

He is part of the Manchester Originals squad for the inaugural The Hundred – the England and Wales Cricket Board’s new limited-overs tournament. Whether The Hundred is postponed as a preventative measure against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic remains in the balance.

‘I don’t think anyone knows what will happen. We’re not too sure. It’s a tough one, but that money – you can never count on it. It’s never “in” until it’s in your account, I guess. There’s no point stressing about it,’ he added.

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