South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock could not take the field in a warm-up game in Australia paving the way for club cricketer Harry Nielsen.

Harry Nielsen is Australian born and bred and his dad has previously coached the Australian cricket team.

The prospect of one day lining up for South Africa on the cricket field wouldn't have entered in anybody's mind.

But on Saturday that is just what happened.

The 21-year-old son of former Australian coach Tim Nielsen was called upon to help the touring South African team out during their warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI over the weekend.

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While playing club cricket on Saturday he received a message telling him to make his way to the Adelaide Oval as soon as he could.

South Africa's star wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock had been struck down by illness and couldn't take the field despite notching a century with the bat earlier that day.

To add to the problems, reserve keeper Dane Vilas hadn't yet arrived in Australia for the first test.

He quickly went from club cricketer to standing behind the stumps for South African quicks Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, and Morne Morkel.

He took four catches to help the Proteas roll the young Australian side on Sunday.

The first three were regulation catches off edges, but the fourth was a towering top edge that forced Nielsen to run backwards to take.