Kent sign Kagiso Rabada

www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/articl...deal-new-season.html

I am excited by this news. I can't wait to see more of Rabada this year. He is an absolute superstar in the making. He bowls at good pace, gets the ball to move and has a nice, easy, fluid delivery. He will cause absolute havoc in the second division. I was hoping that Hampshire might somehow be able to acquire his services, but it looks as though fellow South African ry@n McLaren will be their overseas player.

I commend Rabada on giving up making big money in the IPL in an effort to further his development as a bowler. During the recent series against England, Shaun Pollock spoke a bit about Rabada approaching him about playing county cricket this year and Pollock advised him it would be a fantastic move. He will have that ball hooping all over the show.

I'm glad that he's chosen the route that will help him to grow as a cricketer, but I just hope they don't overwork him. Sometimes young fast bowlers suffer a lot of injuries and fade away without ever having achieved their full potential.

I know that the article mentioned that there will be no limitations put on Rabada's workload, but you would hope that Kent will act sensibly and will do so in coordination with CSA. I, myself, was a little worried about Rabada's workload in the final two Test matches, and Mikey Holding also spoke out at some length about this. He made an excellent point - a fast bowler can either be a strike bowler or a workhorse, but he can't be both.

Rabada's ceiling is sky high. Over the last 12-months, Rabada's strike-rate (39.6) is the lowest of all pace bowlers that have appeared in a minimum of 6 innings. This is even more impressive when you consider two of those matches took place in India.

Rabada has been a terrific find for South Africa and so far he has done well to manage the expectations of him. A county stint is always beneficial for a fast bowler and hopefully he will come out a better bowler. He missed the IPL bus due to not being picked by any team but that can come later as and when he becomes a better bowler

Rabada elected not to enter the IPL auction, instead preferring to play county cricket. I believe Rabada's decision to play county cricket this year had been in the works long prior to the England/South Africa series. In fact, even in October of last year, during South Africa's series with India, Rabada made mention of not wanting to play in the IPL in 2016, instead preferring to do whatever it takes to improve as a bowler before cashing in for a big pay day.

This was a wise move, especially in light of the fact that in his young career, Rabada has played just 20 first-class matches in South Africa. He is still very much learning his trade in the four/five day game.

Great conditions to work on the art of Swing !

Hopefully Kent has a good bowling attack and dont rely on him.

It has been confirmed that Rabada will play in two County Championship matches, six T20 Blast matches and one Royal London One Day Cup fixture. This is great for Rabada. He gets to play in all three formats of the game without overtaxing himself. His comments about signing for Kent are refreshing.

www.espncricinfo.com/southafrica/content/story/973563.html