Veteran stars prove their worth for Proteas

While the emphasis has been on blooding young stars for the Proteas, the T20 series with Pakistan, which came to a damp conclusion on Saturday night, also showed that some elder statesmen are not keen on giving up their spots just yet. 

The performances of David Miller, Reeza Hendricks, and Rassie van der Dussen, all 35 years old, and player of the series, George Linde, 33, proved instrumental in South Africa's 2-0 victory over Pakistan. For limited overs coach, Rob Walter it creates a pleasant selection headache. “It is great to have experienced guys like that available to pass on their knowledge, but to also deliver the performances themselves.”

Miller’s 40-ball 82 in Durban rescued South Africa from a perilous position at 28/3, from which they posted 183, with Linde contributing 48 from the No.7 position. In the second match in Centurion, Hendricks, under pressure for his spot after a difficult year, smoked a stellar century, sharing a partnership of 157 with Van der Dussen as South Africa chased down 207.

“When it comes to big tournaments, we just want to pick our best players and if they keep delivering performances, then everyone wins,” said Walter. 

Linde adds to the depth South Africa have with left-arm spinners, but creates a conundrum that Walter admitted he was glad to kick down the road for now. With Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin missing from the series, Linde, who’d last played for South Africa in 2021, grabbed his chance, starting with that rescue act with the bat in the first match, following that with career-best figures of 4/21 with the ball and then amid the carnage at Centurion, providing stand-in captain Heinrich Klaasen with a modicum of control by picking up 1/28.

“The best thing that can happen is that we have a multitude of players competing for spots. For George to win player of the series is awesome, but that doesn’t mean Bjorn is in any way in a different position to what he was before the series, and it is the same for Kesh. It gives us different options; George allowed us to balance the team differently because the seam bowling all-rounders were not part of the series,” said Walter. 

Looking ahead, if Linde stays fit and keeps delivering at domestic level in the way he has in the last few seasons, it will be hard to leave him out of either the T20 or 50-over squads. 

Having been under pressure himself after the Indian series, Walter said, the win over Pakistan provided affirmation, that the plans and processes were the right ones. “Winning breeds confidence. We really trusted that the losses would turn into wins ... I have to take my hat off to the players for continuing to work hard and for continuing to stick to the way we want to play the game and trusting that it would pay off.”

Both teams headed to Cape Town on Sunday, to start preparing for the three-match ODI series that starts in Paarl on Tuesday. Once again, Walter acknowledged that he would have to strike a delicate balancing act as far as player management is concerned, given the schedule.

Temba Bavuma, Tristan Stubbs, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada are all expected to be part of the Test squad that faces Pakistan in two matches. The short turnaround between matches could see plenty of rotation, which Walter admitted makes his preparation for the Champions Trophy next February, challenging.

With the Proteas on the cusp of qualification for the World Test Championship final, that event is being prioritised, but the Champions Trophy is also another opportunity to build on the growth that saw the Proteas reach the semifinals of the World Cup last year.

“We have an awesome squad and want to continue that winning momentum — to take it from this T20 series, into the 50-over space and then make sure that goes into the Test match. To have a T20 World Cup final and a World Test championship final will be pretty awesome for the Proteas,” he said.