Rassie markets himself as future Proteas star

Rassie van der Dussen continued to market himself as one of the Proteas who does still have a bright future with his defiant unbeaten half-century against New Zealand in Birmingham and the 30-year-old is now even being mentioned as a potential future captain of the national team.

Van der Dussen only made his international debut last October with a couple of T20 games against Zimbabwe, but a half-century on debut lifted South Africa to victory from 11 for two.

With the first box ticked, Van der Dussen has just continued to show he can thrive as he has climbed every step of the ladder.

In 12 ODIs since January he has scored 533 runs with six half-centuries and an outstanding average of 76.14.

In this World Cup, he has introduced himself to the likes of England (50), Bangladesh (41) and New Zealand (67*), but more than just the runs he has scored, Van der Dussen has impressed with his composure out in the middle and his level-headedness when facing the media after things have inevitably gone wrong for the Proteas.

Even current captain Faf du Plessis has been impressed.

“Rassie is the real deal, he’s one of the younger guys in terms of experience who has a great future and we need to back them. He also has leadership capabilities, he’s stood up and shown himself to be a strong man in a big tournament,” Du Plessis said.

When told of his skipper’s comments, Van der Dussen allowed himself to reflect on how far he has come in a very short time, although he has honed his game and temperament over 10 seasons of franchise cricket.

“A year ago I would have said there was only a very small chance of me being at this World Cup. I’m 30 now and hopefully I’ll still be playing well and in good physical condition to keep going for the next one. Every game for me is about learning and adapting to the different opposition and the strategies they bring against me. I had never played against a lot of these guys, but now that I’ve been able to do okay against them, its definitely something I can draw on.

“There are a lot of experienced guys in the squad and Aiden Markram already has leadership experience. Everybody has their own style and approach to leadership, but I trust the calls made out there. I’m also up against the best batsmen in the country so you’ve got to know what you’re about,” Van der Dussen said.

Van der Dussen had a strong message for those who are expecting the Proteas to now just go through the motions seeing as though their semi-final ambitions are all but dead.

“We have three games left and every time you represent your country it’s an honour, and we’re not mathematically out of the tournament yet. We won’t let up in our intensity, we want to really show our character in these last few games. And we’re up against three teams [Pakistan, Sri Lanka & Australia] that we beat recently in our last matches against them,” Van der Dussen said.

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