Not long ago, the South African team made history by winning the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s in June. It was a dream moment for a side long labeled as “bottlers,” having endured major heartbreaks throughout their cricketing history.
Recently, South Africa’s stand-in skipper Rassie van der Dussen said that the WTC final has had a positive impact on the entire team. According to him, the victory has allowed the team to play with more confidence and without fear. Even though van der Dussen wasn’t part of the final win, the performance and the trophy have served as a huge source of inspiration for him and the rest of the squad.
“It feels like there’s a difference. Maybe it’s boiled over from winning the Test Championship because we won that match when it counts, so it’s almost like we can experiment more,” van der Dussen, who is standing in as South Africa’s T20I captain for the Zimbabwe tri-series, said ahead of the team’s next match.
“It’s obviously Shukri [Conrad]’s first time in charge of the white-ball sides, but the mindset is different. We are not trying things for the sake of trying it, or guys being chosen for the sake of being chosen. It’s about trying things with the understanding that it’s okay if you get it wrong, but you can only get to the other side if you try it properly and authentically. What Shukri brings in terms of environment, and in terms of a mindset, is that freedom.”
“There’s obviously responsibility, and we want to win every match. Shukri has said that many times, and we want to win every match that we play, but we are also encouraged to be our best version, play the way we want to play, and play the way the team wants to play. If we fall short, that’s okay, we fall short on our terms. We’ll try to be better next time. There’s no pressure from a management point of view. We know what’s expected of us.”
The South African T20 side is currently in Zimbabwe playing a tri series including the home side and New Zealand. Thats a new look T20 squad lead by Rassie as the main players were not selected for this tour.
Additionally, there is the hope that certain members of this team, including Gerald Coetzee, George Linde, Dewald Brevis, and Lhuan-dre Pretorius, will push their way into the starting lineup. Among other things, the purpose of such a series is to provide marginal players a stage on which to demonstrate their abilities on a global scale.
“Lhuan-dre, with what he has done domestically and at the SA20, you could just see that this guy needs to play at this level. And Brevis, through performance over the last six months, is putting guys under pressure,” van der Dussen said.
“As a player in a team, that’s the positive pressure you want. You want someone breathing down your neck, because that’s fair. If you don’t perform, there’s a guy that’s going to take your place, and that’s always good in a team environment. It’s not like I can rest on my laurels because there’s no one really pushing me for my spot. In every department – bowling, spin bowling, fielding, keeping, batting, middle-order batting – there are guys putting their hands up and saying I want to be part of this team. That keeps you on your toes.”
It is eminent to mention South Africa has qualified for the final of the ongoing series and will face New Zealand. Their next match is against the same opponent on 22nd July.
