Dillon du Preez had one of the more interesting entries into the first-class game when he was forced to bowl for two days for Free State against the West Indies as the tourists amassed 618. The Port Elizabeth-born fast bowler didn't lose faith, however, picking up 3 for 75 in 29 overs including Shivnarine Chanderpaul as his maiden wicket, bowled for 245. He also scored 56 and took 2 for 34 in the second innings. Du Preez had moved to Bloemfontein from the Eastern Cape in 1989 and attended a coaching academy run by internationals Corrie van Zyl and Rudolf Steyn. "I was hooked on cricket after that and applied myself more to cricket than my studies," he admits. He made slow but steady progress through the ranks of the South Africa Under-17 and Free State Academy teams before his meeting with the West Indies in December 2003. Du Preez was far from a permanent fixture in the Eagles team in the first three seasons of franchise cricket, but he burst into prominence by taking 55 wickets in the Eagles' triumphant 2007-08 campaign. An accurate bowler of slightly less than extreme pace, Du Preez also contributes useful runs in the lower-order, making his maiden first-class century in 2007-08. He signed with Leicestershire as a Kolpak player in 2008.
Ken Borland May 2008

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Dillon du Preez © Leicestershire CCC

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