A fast left-arm pacer, who comes hustling into the wicket, he releases the ball with a whippy, open-chested action action. His stock delivery is the one which swings into the batsmen at high speeds, called the 'Bender'. But despite possessing some very desirable attributes, Parnell has had an unfulfilled career at the international level - falling away from the top almost as quickly as he arrived, mostly due to injury.
 

A Test debut was thus, just a matter of time, and Parnell got his chance against England in the home series in the final Test. South Africa won the Test, and drew the four match series 1-1, but with England clinging onto to two draws by the skin of their teeth, those who had called for Parnell to be inducted into the Test team sooner were proven right.
 

With the emergence of Vernon Philander who rounded off an envious pace attack alongside Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, it took Parnell all of four years to get back into the Test team, when he was picked to play against Australia in February 2014 at Port Elizabeth. After just bowling around 8 overs and having picked up 2 wickets, he injured his groin again which did not allow him to bowl for the rest of the match.
 

Making a sort of resurgence in the 2015/16 domestic season, where he was the most successful Cobras bowler in the One-Day Cup, Parnell kept himself in the fray for international selection. Barring the one against England earlier in the year, Parnell played every ODI series in 2016 and enjoyed reasonable success.
 

Apart from his bowling, Parnell also makes for a decent left-handed batsman. In fact, he's even opened the batting for the Cobras on a few occasions recently. Playing with much more composure, something which he admits to lacking in his younger days, Parnell continues to strive for consistency and making himself a regular in the team.