One of those high-utility players to have in your side, Justin Ontong is now one of the senior pros in the South African domestic setup. A rare survivor who started off in the 1990s, Ontong burst into the scene as a top-order batsman, but soon transformed into a versatile all-rounder with subtle variations with his off-spin. He also had a nomadic start to his batting career, being shunted up and down the order, but did manage to hold his own at any position.
He started his First Class career with Boland in 1998. After a couple of years of under-19s cricket and a few stints with the 'A' side, he broke into the ODI side in the West Indies in 2001. Batting at number nine in a Protea side filled with all-rounders, he couldn't quite manage an impact.

It was in January 2002, in rather farcical circumstances that Ontong received his Test cap. The 'unofficial' colour quota in the selection policy saw him being picked ahead of Jacques Rudolph, who was a white player having to miss out. The debut was hardly memorable either, poor scores in a heavy defeat. And that meant him having to wait for over two years to get another chance. That came in Kolkata in 2004 against India, another failure and another defeat meant it became his final appearance. In ODIs though he was mostly in and around the squad at this point of time.

In 2004-05, he moved on to the Lions' franchise where he served until 2008 after which he made his shift to join the Cape Cobras. He started off with a strong domestic season, where he ended up as the highest run-scorer and played a stellar role in seeing his side qualify for the Champions League. He followed the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons with a FC average of over 50 and a List A average of 70. Solid shows with the 'A' side meant another chance to have a crack in the national colours - for his fourth comeback.

With the side undergoing a transformation with some of the senior heads headed out and a change of leadership in the Gary Kirsten era, he earned quite a few caps in ODIs and T20s under his belt. However, the emergence of Miller, du Plessis and Behardien, meant that Ontong once again found himself on the sidelines. Not before he got a chance to lead his side in the third T20 against West Indies at Kingsmead in 2015.

He was meant to be part of the Stellenbosch Kings in the 2017 season of the currently-postponed Global T20 League, but he continues to remain one of the pillars of the Cape Cobras lineup, winning 10 trophies in the last seven years.

Vineet Anantharaman