Three days before the South Africa and England series is set to commence, Proteas batsman Rassie van der Dussen, in his address to the media, reflected on the last limited-overs series the two teams played last year.
“Fresh in the mind,” Van Der Dussen said, the Proteas had played well in patches in that series, but there were obvious areas for improvement.
Rassie van der Dussen highlighted the areas for improvement, stating that it was important for the bowlers to be disciplined with the ball at the beginning of an innings.
Death bowling was also cited as a concern, which has been alleviated to a certain degree, seeing Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje’s performances in this season of the IPL. The batsmen, Van Der Dussen said, were getting good starts, but there was a tendency to “fall away in the middle” – between overs 7 and 15 – even though the team did manage to finish well.
Showering praise on the work Mark Boucher has done as Head Coach, Van Der Dussen said the team was asked to play “aggressive but smart.” Boucher, he said, has been brilliant in helping the team assess its strengths and weaknesses, and provided clarity on the roles each player in the team was expected to play.
Van Der Dussen also expounded on the work he had done with Boucher to improve his game. While feeling confident in his technique, Van Der Dussen said he had worked on correcting a few technical flaws against spin and his intensity at the beginning of an innings. Instead of easing into an innings, he now hopes to show a little bit more intent at the start of an innings.
With England having played two series at home, in addition to some of their key players participating in the IPL, Van Der Dussen said the volume of cricket may help them, but it’s not a significant advantage because they are at the end of a long season. On the other hand, the Proteas are mentally and physically fresh, with some of the players having had cricket under their belt through the IPL.
Asked about his views on living in a bio-bubble, Rassie van der Dussen said, it was “not too bad” because it is “not a struggle for me to be alone.” He has been spending his time alone reading books such as Utopia for Realists, and brushing up on his knowledge of birds. “For me, it’s been quite good,” Van Der Dussen signed off.
Photo: Deryck Foster/BackpagePix
Watch the Full Press Conference Below:
