Josh Cobb: Meet the first Englishman in 23 years to help fire up the Free State again

When it became obvious to JP Triegaardt that the Knights weren't going to have Rilee Rossouw in harness for the CSA T20 Challenge, he didn't bother searching for a locally-based hitter to fill the sizeable void.

Instead, he reasoned - so simply really - that there would surely be a English county cricket stalwart keen on keeping himself busy in the off-season.

Triegaardt pored over a lot of footage and data to find his preferred candidate. 

The answer was soon apparent: Josh Cobb.

The 32-year-old, a homegrown Leicestershire product but now plying his trade for Northamptonshire, has for years boasted a reputation as a dangerous hitter and useful off-spinner in the T20 format.

Most recently, Cobb was skipper of the Welsh Fire in The Hundred.

2021 - T20 Blast

185 runs at strike rate of 165

2022 - T20 Blast

318 runs at strike rate of 154

12 wickets at economy of 6.9 and strike rate of 14.8

"Obviously, losing Rilee to the Proteas was a massive setback for us. Pite's Covid-related blood clot when he was in the Netherlands was also a bit of a shock, so we realised from there that we needed some experience in our squad," Triegaardt told News24 Sport.

"I did some research about guys on the county circuit who play the type of game I want this team to play, guys who embody my philosophy. 

"And I came up with Josh, he fits our profile."

Almost refreshingly, there was no calling in favours or working through a contact of a contact.

"I did the research, particularly checking out his output in England's T20 Blast editions from the last two years and I wanted him in the setup, even just from a cricketing point of view in terms of experience."

Except for the fact that Cobb boasts a strike-rate of 134 and takes a wicket at least once in every four-over