Rassie’s love affair with ODI cricket, just can’t say why: ‘It just worked’

Rassie van der Dussen. (Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

in Bloemfontein

• Rassie van der Dussen’s last century means he averages a staggering 71.13 in ODIs, the second-highest ever, as he continues his love affair with the format.
• More pertinently, a return to cricketing over 50 has proven the perfect platform for him to regain form ahead of the remainder of the domestic international season.
• The crafty right-hander can’t quite pin down why he’s so prolific in the format, but no one is complaining.

Rassie van der Dussen can’t quite pin down why, but it’s abundantly clear that she loves 50+ cricket.

Star right-hander Proteas’ superb century in Friday night’s win over England at the Mangaung Oval, the fourth of his career, helps him maintain his disconcerting numbers in the format.

Van der Dussen’s career average of 71.13 is the best for any South African and the second highest in ODI history for players who have scored over 1000 runs in the format.

More importantly though, a return to things over 50 has also seen the 33-year-old regain the kind of form that has been hard to come by since returning from a finger injury in the England tour last year.

So pronounced was their scramble for scores – and playing time – that it’s no surprise that his slick, if somewhat unspectacular, 111 of 117 delivery ranks as one of his favorite international strikes now.

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“Definitely one of my most satisfying experiences. The injury last year came at a bad time for me missing the T20 World Cup, especially after having a good one the year before. From a mental point of view, it was tough,” he said. They go der. Dussen.

“Going back to red-ball cricket was a bit imperfect. I played a few games for the Lions and then I played in the Test against the Aussie at the Gabba, where the pitch was probably the same color as this green tablecloth. It was pretty tough.”

Things hardly got better when Van der Dussen sprang into action straight away for MI Cape Town in the SA20, where he only scored 56 runs in his first five innings before a crucial 49 at Paarl seemed to signal a turnaround.

“Coming straight out of the plane and playing SA20 was also a challenge without any real preparation for T20. It’s as much a skill as any of the other formats,” he said.

“Jet lag and lack of playing time got the better of me initially. It was frustrating, so when I got there today, the rhythm started to pick up, my normal, positive, aggressive thoughts as a hitter were back in.

“I felt a lot more like myself again.”

Still, is it the relative serenity of an ODI punch that seems to attract him?

Or the fact that the format requires grafts not to worry about aesthetics, particularly on slower surfaces?

“Hard to say. Cricket is a numbers game, so you’re likely to fail more than you succeed. Maybe it just turned out that way that I succeed more often than not in the 50+ format. love to play 50+ Cricket,” Van der Dussen said.

“I like to do the donkey work, as Heinrich Klaasen and I did in those conditions. It probably doesn’t seem glamorous to rotate the strike, but it’s something I really enjoy. I enjoy the fact that there’s an extended period for one to apply that.” . ability, especially in the middle order.

“I’ve worked hard on it the last few years. I don’t think there’s a reason, maybe it just worked that way.”

Anyway, no one complains.

The second ODI kicks off at 10:00 on Sunday at a different Mangaung Oval slot.