Having turned his back on South Africa after opting for a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire, pacer Duanne Olivier is now hoping to play Test cricket for England in the future.
The 26-year-old had a sensational start to his international career with South ever since he made his debut in 2017 but surprised one and all three weeks ago by going the Kolpak route to Yorkshire.
In just 10 Tests for South Africa, Olivier picked up 48 wickets at an average of just 19.25 and played a major role in the team’s 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan recently.
Having signed a three-year Kolpak deal with Yorkshire, Olivier is not ruling out an England Test debut down the line.
“I accept that my Test career is over for South Africa but if I do well, hopefully in the future, I can play for England. You always need to put your mind to certain goals,’ Olivier told the Daily Mail.
“Maybe people will think it’s unrealistic but for me, if I really do well, you never know. I can’t tell you what will happen in the future. All I can do, as of now, is control what I am doing this season and give 100 per cent every game.
“I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and if you just concentrate on doing well that will take care of itself. I don’t think too far ahead. Yes, it will be a goal to play for England one day and it would be amazing but for now my pure focus is on Yorkshire and just doing well for them.”
The fast-bowler rejected a two-year central contract offered by Cricket South Africa to make the Yorkshire move and has no regrets over the difficult decision.
“For me, it was just the best decision to make. For me and my family, re-locating is the best decision for our future. I realise some people will understand and some people won’t at all but it doesn’t really faze me what they think,” Olivier explained.
“At the end of the day, it’s about what I want to do. I want to see things going forward and I feel like my cricket will improve playing county cricket.”
Olivier is not the first South African cricketer to go the Kolkpak route to England with the likes of Kyle Abbot and Rilee Rossouw making the move as recently as 2017.