Rassie van der Dussen helped guide the Proteas to the semi-finals of teh ICC Champions Trophy with a well-worked 72 against England on Saturday.
Image: AFP
Even though gracefully admitting that he would step aside to make way for the new kids on the block when the time comes, Proteas batsman Rassie van der Dussen showed the cricket world why he’s still championship material.
Last week, van der Dussen said the current ICC Champions Trophy may be his last big tournament, given the fact that he’s now 36, but his experience has proved to be a valuable asset going into the tournament in Pakistan.
Van der Dussen said he’s “quite happy” with the campaign so far. The big hitting batsman revelaed his feelings after the Proteas seven wicket dismantling of England in Karachi on Saturday. He shot a 72 not out from 87 deliveries to steer the Proteas into a semi-final.
Not taking any credit away from the Proteas bowlers, however, who ripped through England's defence like a runaway train of its rails. England were bowled out for 179 in 38.2 overs. Van der Dussen also put up a half century against Afghanistan during their opening match.
“We were really happy with that performance against Afghanistan and Saturday, we knew that we wanted to win so that we could finish on top of the log,” van der Dussen said.
"There’s been a lot of work behind the scenes. The guys work ethic is really good.
"Discipline has been up there and we’ve had some good planning. I guess its first goal was achieved by getting into the semi-final and now there’s two more games
“Myself and Dave (Miller) have played a few PSL’s so coming into the tournament we definitely relayed the conditions and how it played here. From a batting point of view, there’s a few technical adjustments that you make.
"Obviously, in South Africa, there’s a lot of bounce. We communicated that so it’s been good,” he added.
The 36-year-old said the fatigue has been settling in, as the team have had to cart around Pakistan and now will be travelling to Dubai for the semi.
Van der Dussen said the Proteas were not as fortunate as “other teams” when it came to travel arrangements, nudging India who have been shown favour in this tournament compared to other teams. India have only trained and played in Dubai Cricket Stadium while other teams had to fly between Pakistan and India. India cited political tensions with Pakistan as their reason for not wanting to play there.
The middle order batsman said there’s no pressure on the Proteas to win the tournament because they have not lifted the trophy in a while, indicating that they’re playing without the weight of a title defence on their shoulders.
The Proteas will have to wait for the fixtures to be announced to know their semi-final fate but by the looks of things, will likely play India based on how Group A finished, with New Zealand on top.
“If we play India, they are obviously accustomed to the conditions because they’ve been there for a few weeks so they will be familiar with how the pitch is playing. The challenge for us would be to try and acclimatise really quickly,” van der Dussen concluded.