Rassie van der Dussen is hoping to use his omission from the last T20 World Cup as motivation for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
The Proteas top-order batter had been one of the leading T20 run-scorers in the world last year, totalling 1 395 at an average of 43.59 and strike-rate of 142.34
But unfortunately for Van der Dussen, there were five other South African batters in the global top 10 ahead of him.
“Yeah, I’ll be honest: it was a tough one. I had a great year in T20 cricket leading up to that World Cup especially,” Van der Dussen said after cracking an unbeaten 91 for MI Cape Town against Paarl Royals at Boland Park on Wednesday in the SA20.
“I’ve always said I’ve never said I should have been in place of anyone. I just felt like it was a tough one.
“And with 15-man squads always with ICC events, if there’s only 15 guys, some guys are going to miss out on that.
“You feel you deserve it. And yeah, so it was tough. But I mean, it is what it is. It’s sport. The guys did really well, and made us proud (in reaching the final).”
Van der Dussen will, though, be at another major ICC tournament next month after Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter pencilled him in as the No 3 batter for the Champions Trophy.
The 35-year-old’s overall ODI record of 2 464 runs at 48.31, with a strike rate of 86.33, remains among the best in the game.
But Van der Dussen’s average has dipped below 50 for the first time due to a lean past 12 months, where he’s only managed 104 runs at 17.33.
This paltry return has placed him in a vulnerable position, especially with the emergence of young batters such as Tristan Stubbs and Ryan Rickelton, who have been included in the Proteas’ Champions Trophy squad.
Furthermore, outside of the current national team set-up, the likes of Matthew Breetzke and now the super-talented Lhuan-dre Pretorius are showing off their talents.
But instead of being intimidated by the next crop of batters knocking down the door, Van der Dussen feels it can only benefit South African cricket in the long term.
“Jeez, it’s great. As a senior player, it pushes you to never be complacent, but also shows you the talent we have in our system coming through,” he said.
“I know there’s a lot of people, especially from outside our borders, very critical of our system and the way Cricket SA handles it. But it shows you the best players will always come through.
“Obviously something is working. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due, and we’re still producing world-class cricketers."
A major criticism of Van der Dussen’s game – probably more associated with the T20 arena than the 50-over format – has been the balls he utilises upfront before accelerating through his innings.
It was a similar case at Boland Park on Wednesday evening, with Van der Dussen on 22 off 21 balls prior to sweeping Mujeeb Ur Rahman for a boundary off the final ball of the Powerplay to finish on 26 off 22 balls – a strike-rate of 118.1.
He eventually ended on 91 not out off 67 balls – a strike-rate of 142.18 – after a late assault on Royals’ teenage paceman Kwena Maphaka.
Van der Dussen admits it’s a constant work in progress in trying to maximise the Powerplay.
“I think I’ve taken a conscious decision to try – and especially if I’m opening the batting – put the bowlers under pressure,” he said.
“I’ve always sort of in the last few years been looked at as that – I suppose I’ve done it today, to an extent – as that guy who bats through.
“And I’ve got the game I feel to really do what some of the other guys around the world are doing regarding hitting boundaries, especially upfront.
“So yeah, against spin, I’ve worked hard on boundary options. It was a conscious decision.”
Van der Dussen spent the majority of the Paarl Royals’ innings in the MI Cape Town dug-out after injuring his hand while fielding, but claimed “it was fine” – which should ease the Proteas’ concerns after already having fast bowler Anrich Nortjé ruled out of the Champions Trophy with a back injury this week. | Independent Media Sport