To continue our series of meeting the boys in red, white and blue. We take a look at the next four players who will be representing Washington Freedom, including two international superstars and two domestic talents.
Jacobus Pienaar
From the minor to major leagues, Pienaar has lived in the USA since 2021 and holds the record for the fastest hundred in Minor League Cricket history, reaching three figures in just 37 balls. Pienaar has played two seasons of Minor League Cricket scoring 887 runs and taking 28 wickets.
Hailing from South Africa, Pienaar was the leading runscorer in three separate domestic competitions from 2017-2019. If this isn’t consistent, we don’t know what is.
An adaptable cricketer, his controlled batting style makes Pienaar the perfect anchor for any innings but his destructive power can take any team down. When paired with his accurate spin-bowling, Obus is an excellent addition to our Washington Freedom side.
Marco Jansen
The 23-year-old South African bowls left-arm fast, bats aggressively and is one of the most exciting all-rounders in world cricket. He has represented his country in all three formats and played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the latest Indian Premier League.
Jansen adds a further South African flavor to the Freedom squad, as he joins Anrich Nortje and Dane Piedt as the players who will pull on the red, white and blue of Washington Freedom, having also represented the Proteas in Test cricket.
Jansen has played three seasons in the IPL, first turning out for Mumbai Indians before signing for Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the latest SA20 competition, he played for Hyderabad’s sister franchise Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
Josh Phillipe
One of Australia’s brightest talents, Philippe is a wicket-keeper batter who has represented Australia on 13 occasions. Playing with both precision and power, Philippe is capable of scoring all around the ground and his talents saw him picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2020.
A stalwart of the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League, he was their player of the tournament in their victorious 2019-20 campaign, where his rapid half-century in the final saw him awarded man-of-the-match.
A product of a proud cricketing family, his mum played for Western Australia in the 1980s, whilst his dad represented Western Australia 2XI.
A big game player, Philippe’s highest score in T20 cricket is a tantalising 99 not out that he made against Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash in 2021. With our fingers crossed, here’s to Josh’s maiden T20 ton coming in the red, white and blue of Washington Freedom.
Justin Dill
He bats, he bowls, he fields, there isn’t much Justin Dill can’t do. Dill is accustomed to cricket in the US, captaining the St. Louis Americans in Minor League Cricket.
As an U19, Dill played for his home nation, South Africa and in 2018-19 was the leading wicket-taker for Western Province in 2018–19 in the CSA 3-Day Provincial Cup, with 34 dismissals in ten matches.
Hoping to bring his success to Washington, Dill is currently a DC Unity Cup Champion, winning the title with Samp Army in 2022. At just 28, he has a wealth of experience and we can’t wait to see Justin in red, white and blue.
