Dane Paterson is 35, bowls in the mid-120s and has accepted that he "probably won't be a fan favourite," because of his age and (lack of) pace.
Corbin Bosch was 19 when he was tipped for greatness. He is now 30 and bowls consistently above 145kph. He has stolen hearts as a hometown hero who is now playing at the place his late father made his name.
Between them, they took nine out of ten Pakistan wickets in an attack that included the household names of Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen. How did it happen? A lot of it was because of the pressure created by two fantastic spells from Rabada, where he beat the bat almost once an over, had the Pakistan batters playing shots that were not in control every three balls and still did not get a wicket. "I don't think I have seen two better spells from an international bowler," Bosch said. "Now I finally get to see it first-hand."
Paterson has seen it before. "Even in the Sri Lanka Test series, he had a lot of plays and misses," he remembered, specifically at St George's Park, where Rabada took one first innings and two second-innings wickets. "For him to still keep on coming, it's actually good to see. He's not getting down on himself and still keeping his head up. It can be frustrating, especially for a quality bowler like him."
But that would also do a disservice to the two in question. Paterson is a proven performer, albeit one that does not shoot the lights out. It was just a match ago, at St George's Park, he took his first Test five-for in a display of excellent control and slight seam movement. Unlike the stereotypical big, bad quicks of the south, Paterson relies on subtle skills. Today, there was a small change in length.
"They were standing outside the crease, so I just had to pull my length back," he said. "After lunch I had a chat with (bowling coach) Piet Botha and (Test coach) Shukri Conrad and they just said I just need to hit the deck hard. All of a sudden I got that variable bounce."
His shorter lengths in the afternoon resulted in the Pakistan batters advancing on him, and both Kamran Ghulam and Salman Agha were out to aggressive shots, which is exactly what Paterson wanted to see. "It shows you that you're a threat once they start walking at you," he said. "Even in county cricket, guys walk at me, but I've been very successful with nicking them off so I really don't mind it. As soon as I see guys coming, I think I'm in the game because it's not good cricket shots that they're playing."
It's worth remembering that Paterson has taken 180 wickets in 45 matches for Nottinghamshire between 2021 and 2024 and was only considered for national selection when Conrad had to take a B team to New Zealand earlier this year. "When we had the chance in January, we knew what's happening with going to New Zealand and I thought I could probably do two Tests and then that's me done," he said. "And then Shukri told me this is my plan with you, and we just had an honest and open conversation. I knew what I had to do with my part, obviously, getting in shape, training and trying to put in performances."
Now, with South Africa one win away from the World Test Championship final, Paterson may fancy his chances of the ultimate send-off, but he's not quite there yet. "Lord's is a very long way. I'll be 36 years old," he said. "We don't want to be sitting in a press conference and mentioning my age. But yes, that's the goal. Everybody's speaking about it. The team is focused."
Bosch's ambitions were a little more specific. "One of my goals for the year was to play two formats for the country," he said. "But someone needs to pinch me at this moment. A couple of months ago I never thought I would be sitting here."
In the space of four days, Bosch has made both his ODI and Test debut and though they've both come because of necessity with other players injured, they don't mean any less to him. "I am super grateful," he said.
More so, because he got to make his Test debut at his home ground, with his mother in attendance. He paid tribute to her, and not his late father Tertius, with his shirt number. Instead of the usual 14, he opted for 37. "My dad's birthday is the 14th of March, so that is why I have played a lot of my cricket representing him," he explained. "My mom goes unseen and unnoticed. This is actually more a tribute to her. Her year of birth is 1973. Unfortunately, there was someone (Khaya Zondo) who was 73, so I decided to do it backwards."
And if the fairy-tale needed anything else, it came when Bosch was given the ball, in the 15th over, and became the fifth South African to strike with his first delivery in Test cricket. "I was just happy it bounced. The nerves were not as bad as (my ODI debut) on Sunday, but they were still there, especially, I waited half a session," Bosch said. "I did not bowl before drinks, so I thought, am I even going to bowl in this game at some point? Temba [Bavuma] gave me the ball and next thing you know, I had taken my first international wicket. I could not have even dreamt something. Even when I was telling myself last night, what would be one of the greatest things to achieve today? That was definitely not what I would have thought."
Bosch admitted that the delivery was one that Shan Masood, wide outside off, "maybe should not have played at," but getting the Pakistan captain was still a big deal. Bigger than his dad's first Test wicket, Brian Lara? "I think when I go to heaven one day, he is going to tell me Brian is a little bit better than your first ball wicket," Bosch joked.
For the rest of his time with ball in hand, Bosch was the least disciplined of the South African bowlers, but the one who Pakistan decided to take on. And he got himself into a position where he could go searching for a five-for, which he didn't get and only leaves him wanting more. "I still feel like I can bowl better. It was not too bad," he said. "All in all, I am very happy with the performance I put out today."
In the end, both Paterson and Bosch could feel that way. They're not the big names, but put in the biggest performances today, and some days, that's all that matters.