Batting: Left hand batsman
Bowling: Slow left arm orthodox
Omphile Ramela played with a new-found maturity in the 2014/2015-season and earned a nickname of Ironman thanks to 1008 minutes spent at the crease in two Sunfoil Series matches in which he struck a maiden franchise ton and a double century.
Ramela compiled a classy 129 in 403 minutes on his 27th birthday for the Cape Cobras against the Warriors at PPC Newlands in the 2014/2015-competition. In his next game, he struck 202 while stonewalling the Cobras-innings for 605 minutes.
The left-handed stylist finished with 724 four-day runs at an average of 48.26 and was the leading run-scorer for the Cape champions last season.
In his maiden four-day match for South Africa A, Ramela completed a ton to continue his remarkable transition as a batsman.
He was appointed as Cape Cobras four-day captain for the 2015/2016-season.
Ramela was born in Soweto and educated at St. John’s College, where his cricket talent was first spotted.
He was in the Gauteng Schools team in 2005/2006 and made his first-class debut for Gauteng in December 2007 before joining Boland the same season.
Ramela also represented the Cape Cobras on several occasions between 2009 and 2014.
A cricketer capable of communicating in five languages and set to enroll in a masters-degree in Economics at the University of Stellenbosch in 2015, Ramela is the epitome of the thinking man’s cricketer.
The visit to the national academy in 2014 seemed to bolster the young left-hander’s self-belief and game-awareness.
He made several telling contributions to the Nashua Cape Cobras’ triumphant cause in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge.
A feature of his 246 runs during a significant and potentially career-defining campaign was his running between the wickets with the rest of the top-order.
He was also able to switch gears seamlessly and fulfill the twin role of accumulator and blaster expertly.
In the final of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge at Newlands, Ramela struck a superb 54 off 34 balls with five fours and two sixes to power the hosts to 158 for four.
He finished as batsman of the match following the Cobras’ emphatic 33-run win.
