Rassie: SA in 'a good mental space' ahead of Tri-Series

ONE of the first things Shukri Conrad did after taking on the Proteas Test job two and half years ago was to ring up Rassie van der Dussen.

- ZAAHIER ADAMS

The top-order batter had been a stalwart across formats for Conrad's predecessor Mark Boucher, but Conrad felt that Van der Dussen, having played 18 Test matches and averaged 30.16 without scoring a century, had run his race in the longest format.

Instead, Conrad suggested to an understandably disappointed Van der Dussen that he pursue his white-ball options across the various T20 franchise leagues. Van der Dussen proceeded to immediately free himself up from his Lions first-class commitments to join the Pakistan Super League where the veteran has been a standout performer ever since. Not only has Van der Dussen averaged 39.4 at a strike-rate of 143.04 in the PSL, but the experience has allowed him to broaden his gameplans in the SA20 too. He has since routinely been among the leading run-scorers in South Africa's premier T20 competition with 721 runs at an average of 40.05, striking at 138.74, over the past two seasons for MI Cape Town.