Dean Foxcroft: The latest South African-born cricketer to play for New Zealand

It's well known how South African-born cricketers like Devon Conway, Neil Wagner, Grant Elliott, Glenn Phillips made it big playing for New Zealand. Chad Bowes, who led South Africa in the 2012 Under-19 World Cup, played the first two ODIs against Bangladesh. 

But after a couple of low returns, New Zealand decided to replace him with Dean Foxcroft, another cricketer born and bred in South Africa. Literally a like for like substitute. 

The leading run-getter in New Zealand's last white-ball summer, Foxcroft won the men's Super Smash player of the year and men's domestic player of the year trophies at this year's New Zealand Cricket Awards. He was making up for lost time.

After an impressive first domestic season for the Otago Volts, Foxcroft headed to South Africa to see his family and take some exams. Little did he know, he would be stuck in South Africa for two years and miss out on so much domestic - and probably international - cricket in New Zealand. 

It was the year 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic caused deaths of millions all over the world. Because of New Zealand's strict border restrictions, Foxcroft was not able to return. All three of his requests were denied. 

At one point, the wait became so frustrating that he mulled giving up the dream of playing for New Zealand and rebuilding the career in South Africa.

But his friends and family constantly reminded him of his dream and why he left South Africa for New Zealand in the first place. 

While he was in exile, he got a surprise Pakistan Super League (PSL) deal. He didn't expect to play any game but much to his delight, he got one. Then he went to Oman to play in a low-profile T10 league. The quality was not up to the mark, but he was happy with the game time.

While in South Africa, he worked closely with Kruger van Wyk, a fellow South African-born New Zealand cricketer so that he could keep the standards high. 

This year, he was given eligibility approval earlier this year from the ICC under its "exceptional circumstances" criteria. Last month, he made his T20I debut for New Zealand against UAE. Today, he is making his ODI debut against Bangladesh. 

But this is not the first time he is in this part of the world. He played for South Africa in the 2016 U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh and before that, he played a bilateral series against Bangladesh U-19 in 2015 here. He has played a fair bit against Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto, who is making his captaincy debut today.

Interestingly, New Zealand's last game in that U-19 World Cup was against South Africa and Foxcroft was named the Player of the Match in Cox's Bazar. In that match, he played against Rachin Ravindra and Finn Allen, his teammates now. Ravindra captained New Zealand in that game.

The conditions are not very unfamiliar for Foxcroft and he will be keen to make the most of the opportunity.