Half-a-dozen seasons of consistency at the Titans with both bat and ball earned Neil Brand reward last season when he made his Test debut for South Africa, and was given the honour of captaining the team on their tour of New Zealand.

Although Brand did not fare as well as he usually does with the bat for the Titans last season, he showed his adaptability as a cricketer when he moved into the middle-order for the CSA T20 Challenge and did a fine job, averaging 34.83 and scoring at a strike-rate of 130.62.

He made a considerable contribution with the ball throughout the season, though, his left-arm spin netting him 12 wickets in four red-ball matches at an average of just 16.75, while he was tough to score off in the white-ball formats with economy rates of 5.25 in one-day cricket and 6.83 in the T20s.

Generally a top-order batsman, Brand will be relied upon again this season to get the Titans on the front foot, while his bowling has also earned respect.