Dwaine Pretorius of the Proteas during the 3rd KFC T20 International match between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on March 24, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images)
Given the opportunity to bat up the order in the No 3 position in the third T20 International against Sri Lanka and making a huge success of it, all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has surely all but sealed his place in the South African World Cup squad to play in England.
Pretorius scored an accomplished 77 not out off just 42 balls to show his batting ability and, given how he almost always lives up to the faith put in him with the ball, coach Ottis Gibson has likely already pencilled his name into his 15 for the World Cup.
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But while the 29-year-old has full faith in his own abilities, he said after the game that selection is something he has no control over, so while the World Cup is obviously in the back of his mind, he does not focus on it.
“You just want to be given the best opportunity to show what you can do. I don’t know anything about the World Cup team, that’s out of my hands and I just hope for the best. I knew before the game I was going to be batting up at five, but coming in at three, I looked at it as a one-day game because I’m probably going to be coming in with about 16 overs left.
“I just tried to be nice and positive, tried to back myself and it worked well. I’ve changed my strategy against spin, if it’s full I go, if it’s in my area I back myself to hit the boundary, otherwise I must get one.
“The pitch was good, there wasn’t that much turn, but the ball gripped a bit. But we knew we had to take on the spinners, Reeza and I complemented each other well and I was 12 off nine so I had a nice start and I didn’t feel under pressure,” Pretorius said after the game.
The Highveld Lions star has also been a remarkably consistent performer with the ball for the Proteas, taking 24 wickets in his 19 ODIs and conceding just 4.88 runs per over. He could be an important bowler in the middle overs at the World Cup, although he and Andile Phehlukwayo employ a similar method.
“I hope there’s a bit of nip in England, that’s how I like it. I bowl at 125-130km/h not 140, but I hit my length and line most of the time. I enjoy playing with Andile, we have the same plans but slightly different actions and he has different slower balls to me. I would also love to bat with him because that would be exciting,” Pretorius added.
In his innermost being, the man who turns 30 on Friday knows he is good enough to perform at the World Cup.
“You always back yourself and it’s most important that you never stop believing. I’ve worked hard on my mindset – it’s about what I can do, I just worry about my game, I don’t worry about what others are doing,” Pretorius said.
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