Hardus Viljoen

That return caught the attention of the Lions franchise, who persuaded him to join them for the following season, and he moved his base to the Wanderers. His domestic form stayed steady, yet the national selectors kept passing him over, to the point where he weighed up a move to New Zealand to further his career. The turning point came in 2014/15, when he led the bowling charts with 47 wickets at an average of 23.02, and that haul finally earned him a place in the South Africa squad.

His Test debut came in 2016, in the third Test against England, and it began memorably. With the bat, he struck the very first ball he faced for a boundary, and with the ball he removed Alastair Cook with his first delivery in international cricket. He could not build on that opening, though, ending with figures of 1/94. South Africa lost the match and the series, and Viljoen was left out of the side afterwards.

He went on to play for South Africa's A teams and kept performing, but chances at the top level stayed scarce. In December 2016 he cut ties with Cricket South Africa and signed a three-year Kolpak contract with Derbyshire.

Viljoen later joined Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League at his base price of Rs. 75 lakhs. His 2019 campaign was a difficult one, with an economy rate above 9.5, but the franchise still chose to keep him for the 2020 season.