The Proteas put in a gevaarlike allround performance to beat England by 62 runs in the first of three ODIs in Durham on Tuesday night.
Playing in scorching heat, the Proteas won the toss and opted to bat first.
They then scored 333/5 to which England could only reply with 271 all out after some impressive field placing by SA captain Keshav Maharaj and good discipline by his bowlers.
But the foundation for the win was laid by the batters. Remarkably, though, South Africa didn’t hit a single six in their innings.
Man of the Match and number three batsman Rassie van der Dussen (with a career best 134 runs off 117 balls) explains that it’s not always a case of ‘go big or go home’.
Instead, he reveals that they have been conditioned by coach Mark Boucher and his coaching staff to adjust their plan.
Van der Dussen explains: “We knew it was a massive outfield - the wind was also strong from one end, so it took the six option out. It would have been a long hit and to try and take on the wind, wouldn’t have been calculated risk.
“We knew coming into this game that with the big outfield we were going to have to play smart cricket. We’ve done a lot of conditioning work… it’s part of our game plan to hit space and run hard and get runs off good balls.”
"We knew we had to play quite straight and keep our intent and body language up" - First ODI Player of the Match @Rassie72 🗣️
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) July 20, 2022
Full interview 🔗 https://t.co/zMYrMbd99u#ENGvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/SX5r6kzQlE
Opener Janneman Malan also started the series well with a knock of 57 off 77 balls at the top of the order, while Aiden Markram, in at No.4, scored 77 off 61 balls.
Markram also did well with ball in hand after allrounder Andile Phelukhwayo left the field with concussion, claiming 2/25 in four overs, with Anrich Nortje (4/53) returning the best bowling figures for South Africa.
South Africa will look to seal the series win at Old Trafford on Friday.
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za