Rassie van der Dussen
SA20 images/Sportzpics/Gallo
- Rassie van der Dussen is pleased to have some time in between, having helped lead MI Cape Town to victory against the Paarl Royals at Boland Park.
- On Saturday, Van der Dussen scored a gutsy 49 for MI Cape Town as Paarl Royals fell 13 runs short of their target.
- Van der Dussen admitted that the coaches’ backing helped him regain his confidence as he found form ahead of the Proteas ODI series against England.
MI Cape Town batsman Rassie van der Dussen was delighted to get some time in the middle ahead of Proteas’ ODI series against England next week.
Van der Dussen’s 49 made the difference as MI Cape Town defeated Paarl Royals at Boland Park by 13 runs on Saturday.
He also scored the highest score for MI Cape Town when he hit 49 off 42 balls (hitting four fours and one six) as his team posted 142/9 at Paarl.
“I haven’t gone the way I wanted to. So it gave me a good opportunity to come in and hit and get into that field, which was quite difficult,” Van der Dussen told reporters on Saturday.
Paarl Royals fell 13 runs short of their target despite a fiery 68 from 58 balls from England’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Jos Buttler.
SCORECARD | SA20 – Paarl Royals v MI Cape Town
Van der Dussen is part of the Proteas ODI squad that will take on England in three matchdays from January 27 to February 1.
The Proteas squad will assemble after Tuesday’s SA20 matches before a week-long break to accommodate the three-match ODI series.
“It’s a huge week. It’s nice to have some free time in between, sometimes with T20, it can be quite hectic as a batsman,” Van der Dussen said.
“You have to play the situation and it’s a high risk or reward type of game. Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way and you can easily rack up some low scores like I have.”
“It’s been an intermittent start so I’m really glad we had some time in between today, but more importantly obviously we needed the result.
Van der Dussen hasn’t had the most prolific effort with the bat, having scored 105 runs in his six SA20 games so far for MI Cape Town.
His 49 was his highest in the tournament so far, and with an excellent season still ahead of the Proteas batsman, he hopes this turns the fortunes of his year around.
“For me, it’s difficult when I don’t contribute to the team, and especially when we are losing,” Van der Dussen said.
“Robbie P (Robin Petersen) just had a chat with me the other day and he said management has my back. I know Hash (Hashim Amla) and Simon Katich have my back, they’ve been really great and forthcoming.
“There is no pressure when we play and our captain, Rashid Khan, asks for more smiles than anything else on the pitch and in the dressing room, so it’s a relaxed atmosphere.
“When we lost early wickets today, it gave me the opportunity to come in and play a decent innings in a pressured environment and in the match where we needed a result, which is something I pride myself on.
“I’m glad I was able to repay their faith in me and hopefully it’s the start of a good season for us.”
MI Cape Town will host their last home game on Monday against Pretoria Capitals at Newlands.
The game starts at 1:30 p.m.
