Late arriver Klaasen hopes to put a smile on his and Proteas’ faces

The arrival of Heinrich Klaasen and Keshav Maharaj in Karachi will provide a timely boost for the Proteas before their clash with Pakistan on Wednesday.

With more than 100 ODI caps between them, the pair will add much-needed experience to a South African team that gave an honest account of itself in the first match of the triangular series against New Zealand on Monday, but ultimately came up short. 

Maharaj and Klaasen were given a few extra days off to be with their families before they boarded a plane for Pakistan, so missed Monday’s six-wicket defeat in Lahore. 

Klaasen admitted that because of the travel he didn’t watch that match, where Matthew Breetzke made the highest score on debut in an ODI. “We are in a unique situation on this tour, a lot of guys got an opportunity Monday and they played well,” said Klaasen.

“I didn’t watch much of it so I can’t comment on the mistakes the guys made, but we saw some quality play from the youngsters.”

South Africa needs to win on Wednesday to secure a place in the final which will be against New Zealand on Friday. “If we can knock [Pakistan] out and play in the final and the home country is not involved, that will at least put a smile on my face,” Klaasen chirped. 

Pakistan won all three matches in the series the last time the two teams met in the ODI format. They dominated all three matches, with left-hand opener Saim Ayub announcing himself as a future star of the international game. Unfortunately for Saim and Pakistan, he broke his ankle on the first morning of the second Test at Newlands and is missing the triangular series and more importantly, the ICC Champions Trophy, which starts next week. 

Klaasen finished that series as the leading run-scorer, making half-centuries in each of the three matches, but he stood apart from his teammates. While he ended with an aggregate of 264 runs, the next best Proteas batter was Tony de Zorzi, who scored 93 runs in three innings. 

“Pakistan, in their own conditions, are a different beast,” said Klaasen. “I like to start my innings slowly and get a feel for conditions, so I will see what is on offer [Wednesday].”

The composition of the South African team has been affected by the SA20, which only finished last Saturday. Until Lungi Ngidi and Tabraiz Shamsi joined the squad, the rest of the players had to be drawn from SA20 teams that missed the playoffs, or in the case of skipper Temba Bavuma and Mihlali Mpongwana, weren’t contracted to the tournament. 

David Miller, who became a father for the first time last week, and most of the South African squad who played in the SA20 final last Saturday will head to Pakistan on Friday to start preparations for the Champions Trophy.

South Africa will open its campaign in that tournament against Afghanistan in Karachi on February 21.   

Proteas Squad for Tri-nation Series —

Temba Bavuma (capt), Eathan Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Junior Dala, Wiaan Mulder, Mihlali Mpongwana, Senuran Muthusamy, Gideon Peters, Meeka-eel Prince, Jason Smith, Kyle Verreynne, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen, Tony de Zorzi, Corbin Bosch, Kwena Maphaka