Zander de Bruyn drew a lot of comparison with former South African captain Hansie Cornje when he first appeared on the international fold. A tall and elegant lad from Johannesburg, de Bruyn is a right handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler. He started off his career by playing for Transvaal cricket team but his career prospered in 2002 when he moved on to play for Easterns.

De Bruyn had the knack of breaking partnerships at crucial intervals. In the 2003-04 season, he emulated the great Barry Richards by becoming the second player in South African domestic season to reach 1000 runs in the Super Sport Series. He played a crucial role in the Easterns series win over Western Province where he scored a match-winning 169 in the final. Throughout the season, de Bruyn averaged over 60 and from that season he was pretty consistent in his performances, and was rewarded with a call-up to the Test squad. de Bruyn scored 83 on debut and impressed, but he wasn't able to cement his place in the national side. He continued to perform in the domestic setup and was named captain of the Warriors side. In 2009 he moved on to play for the Lions franchise. He also plays for Surrey in the English County Championships.