10 facts about Ryan McLaren: South Africa's specialist all-rounder

Ryan McClaren is one of the most established all-rounders in the domestic arena in South Africa. McLaren surely had the ability to represent the Proteas for more number of times than he has done so far but the due to the evergreen presence of Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis as fast bowling all-rounders in the South African side, his chances were blocked for a long time. Ryan McLaren won’t go down as one of the finest all-rounders to have come out of South Africa’s cricketing stables. But, he has definitely earned a reputation for himself.

1.Born on:

Ryan McLaren was born on 9 February 1983 in the town of Kimberley at Cape Province, South Africa,

2. Early cricketing career:

McLaren played for the South Africa Under-19’s during the 2001–02 Under-19 World Cup. He featured in 8 games there.

3. First Class Debut:

McLaren made his first-class debut for Free State (now called Eagles) in October 2003.

4. Kolpak Deal:

Just like other South African cricketers, McLaren took the Kolpak route to play county cricket for Kent for the 2007 season.

5. Stars for the county side:

In the 2007 Twenty20 Cup Final against Gloucestershire, McLaren took a hat-trick to help Kent win the Twenty20 Cup for the first time.

6. International call-up:

His exploits for Kent County resulted in Cricket South Africa including McLaren for the tour of Bangladesh in 2008. However, Kent didn’t release him from his contract and he had to wait for a few more months to make his debut for South Africa.

7. International debut:

After renouncing his Kolpak status, he was called up by South Africa to play against Zimbabwe in the 2009–10 season. He played his debut ODI match at Benoni on 8th 2009.

8. First South African to take a five-wicket haul

He took a T20I five-wicket haul against West Indies on 2010 as well on his third T20I. The feat was the first by a South African in T20Is.

9. Test Debut:

Due to his good performance in shorter formats, McLaren was called to the Test series against England on 14 January 2010 in the crucial final game of the series against England at the New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.

10. Domestic Cricket:

McLaren has played for numerous clubs and franchises during his career. He has played for the Dolphins, Free State, Hampshire, Kent, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Middlesex, Diamond Eagles, Ruhuna Royals, Knights.