Dwaine Pretorius was delighted with his Man of the Match efforts on his home ground in the Proteas’ series-clinching victory against Sri Lanka.

The Proteas made full use of the depth of their squad by giving Lions all-rounder Pretorius a run around on his home track, and it paid off handsomely as he took a wicket in each of his fourth, fifth and sixth overs to finish with ODI-best figures of 3-19.

It means he now has five wickets from four matches at 22.60 runs apiece, in what has been an encouraging start so far for the 27-year-old.

‘It was a great experience being part of it,’ Pretorius said. ‘It was a great game and I’m just glad I could contribute towards the team effort.

‘This is the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of and it was amazing. I know there were bees on the field but it sounded like there were bees everywhere.

‘I’m just trying to do the best I can and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.’

Proteas skipper AB de Villiers made a point of saying that Pretorius’ replacement, Wayne Parnell, had done little wrong, but saw it as a chance to allow one of the squad members to show what he’s capable of. He all but confirmed that he’ll now have further opportunities in the next two matches.

‘It’s his hometown here in Joburg so we really just wanted to give him a go, and hopefully more of the same will happen in Cape Town and SuperSport Park,’ De Villiers said.

‘He’s always open for advice and it’s an open door to chat to him. He’s happy to use the short ball and he’s got this knack for taking wickets at the right time.’

 

 

Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images