Errol Stewart benefit season to kick off in May

Benefit seasons are normally regarded as the cherry on top of a career that has begun winding down, but Errol Stewart, a rare all-rounder in a world of specialisation, has always bucked the trend.

Stewart, whose benefit season kicks off in May, is not thinking of settling down in his armchair. Natal's wicketkeeper/batsman retains a steely determination to return to the international fold and finds suggestions that his time has passed quite mysterious.

"I've just turned 30 so you could say I'm in the prime of my life. I'm very ambitious about playing for South Africa again and I dearly want to add some Test caps to my five limited-overs internationals. I'm very determined to do that," Stewart says.

Stewart's form was one of the highlights in a somewhat disappointing season for Natal cricket, his incredible consistency with the bat seeing him to the top of the first-class averages (his average was a princely 92) and his sureness behind the stumps settling Natal's long-term wicketkeeping dilemma. But the pre-season outlook was reasonably bleak for the attorney and qualified pilot. Natal were trying to sign Gauteng and SA A wicketkeeper/batsman Nic Pothas and Stewart's place in the side was far from secure. But once it was clear Pothas was staying put, Phil Russell, the ever-pragmatic Natal coach, cleared the air and made sure there was no doubt about where Stewart stood.

"In previous years, I've been asked to keep halfway through the season to sort out the balance of the side. But this season, Phil came to me at the outset and said he wanted me to be the wicketkeeper for the season," Stewart explains.

"I must admit, the Pothas affair really motivated me, but I was very happy with the way things turned out and it was my best season ever. Since being dropped in 1994, I've polished up my approach to the game. In 1994, I was trying so hard that I was squeezing the glue from the bat handle, but since then I've learnt that the key thing is to play for the enjoyment of the game.

"In the past, I've scored plenty of 30s and 40s but then thrown it away once I've got tied down. I now understand my limitations and I must just be patient. I'm not going to be able to play shots like Jonty Rhodes, so I must minimise the risks of getting out and take the singles. Against Free State this season, I was on nought for 45 minutes but I stayed out there and finished with 64 not out," Stewart says.

A centre of great flair and pace, Stewart bade farewell to rugby a couple of years ago but it is indicative of the man known to his team-mates as "Madiba" because of his august demeanour, that at the height of his Natal Sharks career he was juggling two full-time sports, his legal work, qualifying for his pilot's licence, a young family and some work as a television and radio commentator.

Clearly, performing under pressure at the highest level is not going to worry Stewart, who has the distinction of being one of only six sportsmen, and the first since 1920, to be a member of a Currie Cup-winning rugby and cricket team in the same year (1995).

The selection of other 30-somethings like Louis Koen, Pieter Strydom, Steve Elworthy and Henry Williams this year suggests that the national cricket selectors wouldn't consider Stewart to be too old for a recall after six seasons away from the SA team, which would be the cherry on top of a richly-deserved benefit season for one of the most popular Natal boys.