Virtually everyone who has ever bowled in a domestic game has dreamed of taking a five-wicket haul in international cricket. Very few have worked on it as hard, as long or in as many countries as Dane Paterson.

At the end of the third day in Gqeberha, he has bowled 1043 balls in Test cricket, which sounds pretty decent. But compare that to the 27,726 shots he took in first-class cricket and you get an idea of ​​what a career it has been.

For years, joining a Test squad as a medium-paced seam-and-swing operator in South Africa must have felt like playing a video game with a never-ending stream of bosses to fight. If it’s not Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Kyle Abbott keeping you out, suddenly you have Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee.

It took two seam bowlers getting injured in the Durban Test for Paterson to get the chance to play his sixth Test and when it was a rapidly descending warehouse shutter, he sprinted at full speed and slid under it in heroic fashion .

“It’s my first five-for in Test cricket at the age of 35 – I think that’s an achievement in itself,” beamed Paterson after the day’s match. “But basically it’s a reward for my career. That’s how I see it. That’s why I celebrated like that.”

“I think when I played my cricket it was a very good bat for fast bowling. And you think: Okay, could I have my chance one day? And yes, fortunately I got my chance today and took advantage of it.” both hands.

“It’s very special for me and my family – that’s why emotions ran high. It feels like scoring a hundred points.”

On Saturday morning, he was thrilled with each of his goals and repeatedly gestured toward the locker room as he was swarmed by his teammates. Apart from being perhaps the most significant achievement of his career, it was truly a first-class five-wicket haul. In a triple-wicket over, he snapped a ball away to capture the outside edge of Dhananjaya de Silva, snapped one back to take the bails off Kusal Mendis’ stumps and sent Lahiru Kumara firing to third slip.

At this point he had four wickets in the innings and was clearly keen to keep bowling in search of that milestone.

“If you look at the scoreboard you’ve got four wickets and Temba Bavuma kept asking me, ‘Are you OK?'” Paterson said. “‘Do you want to continue?’ And of course I told him that I wasn’t really frustrated by all the plays and misses. And yes, luckily Asitha Fernando made it.

Of the wickets, the ball to Kusal Mendis was his favorite ball. Kusal had actually tried to leave it alone, assuming it would hold its line or at least jump over the top.

“I think the ball to Mendis – that’s every bowler’s dream, just hitting the top of the ball, that’s really nice to see.”

It was also a reward for the long bowling spells in the dirty overs on the second day. This is when the ball is a bit older and the surface offers little support and the bowlers are just waiting for the second new ball to come due. Paterson knew these were overs he had to deliver to keep the spearheads – Rabada and Jansen – fresh.

“A person has to raise their hand and bowl those overs and that’s what I did,” he said. “If I do the dirty work and take a wicket or two, it’s a positive for the team. There was a wicket last night.”

South Africa may have further need for Paterson this summer with Coetzee also opting out of the Pakistan series. But beyond that, Paterson is unsure whether he will continue playing Tests. That decision rests with coach Shukri Conrad, he said.

But for now, this spell is a validation of his life in cricket, not just for him but also for his family who supported him through it. Now the father of a four-year-old and a three-month-old, Paterson has a story about a game-winning Test match spell that he can use to bore his children forever.