Thandi Tshabalala (born 19 November 1984) is a South African

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who plays

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

for the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

as a specialist off spinner. He was first called up to the South African team in February 2006, as he made the squad for their Twenty20 International against Australia, but did not play. In July, he was again selected, this time in a 14-man squad to tour Sri Lanka, but was not picked for the final eleven in the first Test. UCBSA chief of selectors,

Haroon Lorgat Haroon Lorgat ( gu, હારૂન લોરગાટ; born 26 May 1960) is a South African businessman and chartered accountant. He has served as CEO of the International Cricket Council and Cricket South Africa. Personal life and education ...

, said it was "very unlikely that he

ould Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد‎ (the patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritanians have patronymic surnames. Notable p ...

play in the first Test." and that he was there to "gain exposure and experience." Tshabalala has won two Man of the Match awards in his 52 official matches for Eagles and Free State,Matches in which Thandi Tshabalala won an award (3)
from CricketArchive, retrieved 30 July 2006 both in limited overs games. The first was in the opening match of the 2004–05 Pro20 series, where the Eagles beat the

Dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...

by 70 runs and Tshabalala took two wickets, both bowled, and ran out

Hashim Amla Hashim Mahomed Amla OIS (born 31 March 1983) is a South African former international cricketer who played for South Africa in all three formats of the game. Amla holds the record for being the fastest ever to score 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 ...

; the second was in the final Standard Bank Cup game of the 2005–06 season, where Tshabalala took four for 24 in nine overs as the Eagles defended 225. The Eagles made it through to the knock-outs, and won the tournament, with Tshabalala providing a similarly economical spell (9–0–24–2) in the final, where the Eagles beat the Titans after bowling them out for 142 in 42.3 overs.

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Gibbs at No.4, Tshabalala to wait for debut
from Cricinfo, retrieved 30 July 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tshabalala, Thandi 1984 births Living people Sportspeople from Welkom South African cricketers South Africa One Day International cricketers Knights cricketers Free State cricketers