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A little risky: Ryan Rickelton settles his nerves on Test debut
“I was a bit nervous... but once I was out there I was more excited about finally getting an opportunity to show what I can offer."
Ryan Rickelton plays a shot during his Test debut for South Africa against Bangladesh at Kingsmead. Picture: Gallo Images
Debutant Ryan Rickelton admitted that getting off the mark in Test cricket with a reverse-sweep for four was not the lowest-risk shot he could have played, but he felt quite comfortable doing it on the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday.
Rickelton scored a bright 21, which included four fours, the other highlight being a tremendous off-drive to the boundary off Taskin Ahmed.
The 25-year-old fell, however, half-an-hour after tea as he top-edged a hook to mid-on off fast bowler Ebadot Hossain.
Temba Bavuma (53) and Kyle Verreynne (27) then took South Africa through to stumps on 233/4.
“I was a bit nervous before coming out to bat but once I was out there I was more excited about finally getting an opportunity to show what I can offer,” Rickelton said.
“I brought out the reverse-sweep a bit early, but I was a bit tense, just planting my front foot to the off-spinner (Mehidy Hasan Miraz) and patting the ball back.
“If I had still been on nought after 10 or 15 balls then things probably wouldn’t have gone in my favour, so I took a bit of a risk. But it’s not my riskiest option and I felt quite comfortable playing the shot.
“I was just sad not to make it to the end of the day, but Temba has played a great innings and set us up for hopefully a big one tomorrow.”
The Central Gauteng Lions star admitted that the Proteas had greeted Bangladesh’s decision to bowl first with some interest.
“We were quite surprised because you usually bat first in Durban because the pitch starts to turn as it wears,” Rickelton said.
“We were going to bat if we won the toss but all our talk about not having seen a pitch of this nature at Kingsmead before maybe pushed them into it.
“It’s an interesting wicket. When the bowlers hit the deck and aimed at the top of off-stump then it did a bit. There was a bit of seam movement and there are some divots there now.
“There’s also a lot of grass on the pitch, but if the sun keeps shining then it should break up a bit.”
