The South African middle-order batsman, Rassie van der Dussen scored a match-winning century against Pakistan in the warm-up game. He hit a boundary in the last ball of the match off Hassan Ali to reach his century and win the game for his country.
While interacting with the Betway team during his stay in the bio-secure environment in an Abu Dhabi hotel, Van Der Dussen spoke about his stay in an Abu Dhabi hotel and his team’s chances in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Van Der Dussen said they were well looked after in the hotel, on behalf of both himself and Lara, a teacher who has been allowed to enter the bubble and teaches her classes virtually.
He also added: “We do spend a lot of time in the room, but we have a big TV and a lovely living space.
“You’ve got to keep active. I’ve got lots of fitness toys to play with, and there are facilities in the hotel.”
Van der Dussen was also very confident regarding his team’s chances in the tournament.
“We’ve had a good year,” says Van Der Dussen. “We’ve been in different conditions, and we’ve adapted really well.
He admitted that the Proteas unit was less experienced a year ago, but he feels they are now in a good place.
South Africa has had a great last 12 months in the cricketing aspect, with victories in both Test and T20 series in the Caribbean, followed by T20 whitewashes of Ireland and Sri Lanka in July and September. This suggests that the squad benefits from approaching a major tournament with an extra 12 months of development behind them.
The youngsters in the team Van Der Dussen and Keshav Maharaj, are experienced cricketers now, while Reeza Hendricks and Dwaine Pretorius have made great strides in the last 12 months. Also, players like Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje, and Kagiso Rabada are in good form and are well accustomed to the UAE conditions, thanks to the IPL.
Mark Boucher oversees the operation as head coach, while JP Duminy and Charl Langeveldt are on the coaching staff. The staff are all relatively new to the job, but performances and results in 2021 show that South Africa’s trajectory may be on the up.
