Stiaan van Zyl: I can't wait to be back in a Sussex shirt

After a knee injury ended his county season after just five games, it’s been a frustrating seven months for Stiaan van Zyl: “I followed last season closely. It was tough for me being this side of the world and seeing the guys playing and doing well because you want to be part of those good times. I’ve missed the game and the camaraderie with the guys so much.”

It’s been an equally frustrating period for Sussex supporters. Which county’s fans wouldn’t miss a former Test player with over 10,000 first-class runs to his name, a thousand of which came in his debut Championship season for their club?

The good news for both Stiaan and his followers on the South Coast is, as he explains, that the South African is well on the way to returning to full fitness: “I had quite severe bruising on the bone in my knee that came about from the wear and tear of playing year in year out and not getting a lot of rest, but I don’t have pain anymore and when I went for a scan a couple of weeks ago the bruising had come down a lot.

“When I came back [to South Africa], I had a complete break for five-weeks and that helped a lot, but since then I’ve been in the pool and cycling a lot. In the last month I’ve been back running without any pain, so I am very happy about that.”

A sight Sussex supporters should see much more of in 2019 

The positive news concerning his fitness means that Stiaan can now turn his attention to returning to The 1st Central County Ground and playing a full part in Sussex’s 2019 season: “I can’t wait to see the guys and be on the field with them again. Even though it might be a bit colder than here in South Africa I am still looking forward to it, because I am going to be back where I want to be and that’s on the cricket field with the Sharks.”

Stiaan is confident that, with the right management of his workload, he will be the same cricketer on the pitch that he was before injury struck: “Game time is game time and I’ll being doing my thing on the field.

“Between games I just need to be very clever with my workloads. I’m normally always busy if I’m not playing cricket, running a 5k or a 10k or walking my 18 holes of golf, but on days off now I might have to say ‘listen, take it easy and go down to the beach or something, just chill a bit’.”

Stiaan's golf might largely be confined to the crazy variety from now on

And bowling? Sussex supporters have seen how useful Stiaan’s medium-pace can be when it comes to breaking partnerships in four-day cricket: “I’ll still bowl when I am needed. As I’ve said, I don’t see any issues with game related activity but where before I normally used to bowl for 40 minutes straight at training, that now might be 20 minutes.

“If I manage things correctly then I’ll be fine I reckon. There’s nothing else wrong in the knee – no cartilage or anything – it was just a severe bruising.”

Stiaan's partnership-breaking medium-pace is still very much part of his armoury

The 31-year-old even believes that, while obviously unwanted, his enforced break may ultimately extend his playing career: “It gave me a little bit of time to rest mentally as well, because I’ve been playing a lot of cricket over the 11 years I’ve been playing professionally.

“I’ve not written off South African cricket entirely – I might play one format– but I won’t do a whole season back home because I now realise I have to take a break somewhere. Sussex is my main contract, I want to play for the club for a few more years yet and hopefully this approach will add a few years on my county career.”

The first major lay-off of his career has also prompted Stiaan to think about what he might do once his playing days are over, as well as giving him the time to start preparing for that next chapter, whenever that might arrive: “Umpiring is my long-term goal after cricket. This break was the perfect opportunity to do my exams and to stand on weekends. I would like to go into umpiring full-time when I retire in six- or eight-years’ time and give back to the game a little bit.

An extended break has given Stiaan a chance to lay the foundations for his post-playing career

“I think I’ve got that temperament of standing in the field, being alert and concentrating for a long period of time. In South Africa, we’re looking for ex-cricketers to become umpires because they’ve got a natural feel for the game. I love the game and it’s a way of staying involved, but there’s a lot of cricket for me to play yet.

“I’ve also been giving attention to a few properties I’ve got in South Africa, renovating them a little bit, putting new kitchen cupboards in and running an Airbnb in Cape Town.”

Now, however, attention is fully focused on Sussex’s 2019 season: “I think next year is going to be a very good year for us to be honest. The guys are going in the right direction and we’ve got a stable, settled squad.

“I’m very positive about 2019. I think next season is the season that we will go up to division one and maybe win a one-day or a T20 trophy with the team we have.

“For older guys that have been around a bit like me, it’s great to see the youngsters developing so quickly. If they keep going and the rest of us senior guys perform then we’re going to be unstoppable in the future. I think the guys are starting to see that they’re good enough to play the way they want to play and it’s coming off now.

“The squad are coming here for the pre-season tour and I can’t wait to be on the field with them again. I’m very much looking forward to next year.”

Catch Stiaan and the rest of the Sussex team in action in next year's Specsavers County Championship & Royal London One-Day Cup with a 2019 Sussex Membership. Packages start at £1 for under-18s. Join now and be part of something special in 2019.