Rassie van der Dussen ready for Test debut
'It’s massive for me, I’ve worked towards this for a long time and tried to be consistent in franchise cricket and play big innings,' says the Test debutant.
South Africa’s batsman Rassie van der Dussen reacts during a team training session at the Supersport Park Cricket Stadium in Centurion, on December 20, 2019, ahead of a four match Test series against England starting on December 26. (Photo by Phill Magakoe / AFP)
A Test debutant is likely to have a million thoughts racing through their head as they go out to bat for the first time at the highest level of the game, but Rassie van der Dussen’s mind will go back to the last two times South Africa played England at SuperSport Park when he goes to the crease in the first Test which starts on Thursday.
Proteas captain Faf du Plessis confirmed on Tuesday that the 30-year-old Van der Dussen will be the replacement for the injured Temba Bavuma, and the Highveld Lions batsman showed at the World Cup that he is ready for the step up, and in his 18 ODIs so far he averages an incredible 73.77.
“It’s massive for me, I’ve worked towards this for a long time and tried to be consistent in franchise cricket and play big innings. It’s quite significant that it’s happening here in Centurion because that memories thing on Facebook showed me that 10 years ago I was the 14th man here when South Africa played England, I was only 20 back then.
“I was like the dressing room attendant, I met Mark Boucher, Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, and even fielded for two or three overs. That made me reflect and I know what I have to do, I have solid game-plans and the mental discipline.
“And then I watched Stephen Cook get a hundred here on debut against England in 2016 and I will take a lot of confidence from that as well. England had one of the best attacks in the world on that tour, so I’ve spoken to him a lot.
“He’s taught me a lot about red-ball batting and the discipline required while we’ve been together at the Lions. So I’ve been spoilt because I also have legends like Boucher and Kallis to tap into.”
Now that Cricket South Africa have extended the olive branch to the players, the team has had one less thing to worry about. Van der Dussen admitted that blocking out all the off-field noise does take an effort.
“These have been interesting times, but I have to focus on my job, which is winning games for my country. You have to cut everything else out and that takes mental energy. You try to compartmentalise everything so that when you bat the only thing you are dealing with is the next ball. That’s what I tried to do at the World Cup, it was a big stage but I told myself that I am just doing my job.
“It’s what I know I can do, obviously it’s a new format but it helps quite a bit that I’ve been through a World Cup and my previous two debuts went fairly well. But Test cricket is the ultimate format, in the other formats you can hide your weaknesses, but in Test cricket there is nowhere to hide. Obviously it’s going to be a step up, every level is a different challenge, but the fundamentals stay the same,” said Van der Dussen.
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