His exploits with the bat haven’t gone unnoticed and it has seen him being included in the 44-man national training squad, albeit he is training locally along with Gerald Coetzee, who was also called up.

Van Tonder told OFM Sport that he has his sights set on the Proteas and he is sure more Knights will play cricket at the highest level in future.

“It is a massive honour to be a part of the national camp. It goes without saying that I want to represent the Proteas and do well for them, so this is a step in the right direction.

“It also really excites me to see that there are four Knights players in the camp and hopefully that number will increase in the future.”

In 2018, Van Tonder, captained the SA U19’s at the ICC Cricket World Cup and was one of three South Africans named in the team of the tournament, along with Coetzee and Wandile Makwetu.

@MorganPiek OFM Sport