RUSTY THERON has raised a lot of eye-brows with the role he has played in the Chevrolet Warriors’ march to both the MTN40 title and their second final of the season, the Standard Domestic Pro20, taking place on Friday.

Limited overs cricket is meant to be a batsman’s game and there have been dominant performances by the likes of his Warriors’ team mate, Colin Ingram, and by another rising star, David Miller of the Nashua Dolphins.

But in virtually every game it has been the unsung member of the Warriors’ pace attack who (to borrow a baseball term) has shut the opposition out.He regularly comes on to bowl in the last over with the opposition needing about 8 runs to win with enough wickets in hand and he has made the Warriors a well nigh invincible combination.

The script has still to be written for Friday’s final at Axxess DSL St. George’s but you can take poison that the 24-year-old Theron is going to be involved in the drama that unfolds.

Theron’s rise to the top which has seen him become a Cricket South Africa nationally contracted player without having represented the Proteas in any of the three main formats should not be that much of a surprise.

He was named MTN Domestic Championship Cricketer of the Year in 2008 and has regularly been a finalist in the various domestic categories.

But this has been the season in which his career has taken off, so much so that there have been tentative enquiries from two of the Indian Premier League franchises.

It started with two warm-up matches the Warriors played ahead of the ICC Champions’ Trophy. He took five wickets in a winning performance against New Zealand and then an outstanding (in the match context) 1/16 in seven overs against Pakistan.

“They had a full strength batting line-up so it meant a lot to me to do well against Pakistan,” he commented with the innate modesty that has been part and parcel of his career. “It proved to me that I could compete against the big boys and it gave me a lot of confidence to achieve what has transpired since then,” he added.

More was to follow when the Warriors were involved in another international warm-up match, this time against England, at the start of the ODI segment of their tour. He again picked up two wickets at minimal cost.

Having proved himself against not one but three international sides it has come as little surprise to see him perform so well at domestic level. He has long been identified as the natural successor or understudy to Charl Langeveldt but there is now a real possibility that he will travel with Langeveldt to the West Indies for the ICC World Twenty20 at the end of April.

Rusty – it is a nickname that has stuck since the age of 11 when he attended an Eastern Province junior nets session – does not admit to any particular role model or favourite player although he does conceded that he admires the flair of Herschelle Gibbs and the skills of Shaun Pollock.

Possibly the most important move of his career occurred at the same age when his family moved to Port Elizabeth and he was enrolled at the famous Grey School which has recently contributed Wayne Parnell and Johan Botha to the national cause.

“I was born in Potchefstroom and grew up in Parys (a town on the banks of the Vaal River that is probably better known for jukskei and athletics as summer pursuits), so my cricket career only really started in Port Elizabeth.”

And how does he cope with the mental pressure of bowling at “the death” where the dual imposters, hero and zero, wait for you.

“I don’t put myself under pressure and try to stick to my basics,” he says. “If the opposition, for instance, need 8 runs off my last over, I just say to myself: ‘It could be all over in two balls or it could last longer and maybe go my way’. Luckily, it has gone my way most of time.”

Most objective observers of his recent career would discard the luck theory. His execution of skills under immense pressure has been brilliant and he has more than deserved the success that has come his way.

With the Proteas’ Standard Bank ODI squad struggling in the wicket-taking department in India, Theron will have many fans, not only in the Eastern Cape, predicting his national call-up.

Warriors coach Russell Domingo has had some difficult selection calls to make this summer with the likes of Makhaya Ntini, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Wayne Parnell, Johan Botha, Nicky Boje and Jacques Kallis available to him for the key matches.

Somebody normally has to miss out but it can be assumed that one player who will not miss out is the uncapped, unassuming red head.