Rollercoaster of emotions for Ruhan Pretorius

From having his contract terminated at North Down in November to signing for Woodvale a few weeks later and now receiving a first call-up to the Ireland Wolves squad, the 29-year-old has dealt with a rollercoaster of emotions.

Pretorius, who scored more runs than any other player in the NCU last season, wasn’t originally in the Wolves squad selected for the trip to Bangladesh, but when George Dockrell opted out, he was drafted in.

They will get underway in the early hours of Friday morning with a four-day game in Chattogram against Bangladesh A followed by five 50-over and two Twenty20 fixtures.

“There have been highs and lows,” said Pretorius.

“From the low of leaving North Down to the high of getting signed up in the NCU again, which is a place I wanted to stay because I love the people.

“It made sense because my fiancée is based here too.

“The low again of moving house and then another high of getting picked to go on a Wolves tour.

“It has been a bit of a rollercoaster but it’s going in the right direction and is worth it.

“It’s just about hanging in there and to keep going.”

The Wolves squad are in their own bubble after arriving last week and going through a period of quarantine before getting the opportunity to train on Tuesday.

Pretorius has been able to keep himself amused by playing Xbox and watching Netflix but he is looking forward to getting down to business as he continues working towards his ultimate goal of senior Ireland selection and the Wolves is another step in the right direction.

“It’s something you strive for after leaving family behind in South Africa and trying to become a cricketer in Ireland,” he added.

“Once I got the phone call to come on the Wolves tour it was like everything has been worth it.

“You put all the hard work in and you realise that it’s going in the right direction.

“It was very exciting and I’m really happy to be able to get some cricket in.

“I want to play for Ireland and want to put my name down as a regular player.

“I’m looking forward to performing if I get a chance over here. I want to enjoy it as well.

“It’s my first time in Asia and it’s going to be a tough tour, so I am looking forward to expressing myself and enjoying it.”

The multi-format tour will provide a stern test for the Wolves side, who will likely face a barrage of spin and how they deal with that challenge will ultimately be the deciding factor of any potential success.

“We have been in the nets and the ball really turns,” said Pretorius.

“It is a different challenge.

“We know we are going to face a lot of spin in the four-day game and we wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere in the one-day games if they opened with spin because the conditions really favour it.

“We have all been working together as a squad and have been speaking about plans to see what the best way is to play.

“Fordy (Graham Ford) has also been brilliant with that in helping guys because he has been with other teams in Bangladesh and experienced these sub-continent conditions.”

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