Andile Phehlukwayo is ecstatic about his recent performances and hopes to channel his experience into follow-up performances.

The 20-year-old all-rounder hopes to replicate his performance in South Africa’s second clash against New Zealand from the Proteas’ four-wicket win in the first ODI.

His first series, in the whitewash against Australia, saw him taking eight wickets, including 4-44 in the first ODI in Centurion. Although he has performed well with the ball, taking 11 scalps in 11 matches @ 37.45, it’s with the bat that the young all-rounder is building a reputation.

With 17 off 12 needed in the third ODI against the Aussies, Phehlukwayo (42 off 39) hit a six and a four to put SA in a winning position. With three off six required, Phehlukwayo hit two runs to seal the victory. He displayed similar heroism on Sunday. With eight needed off five balls, it was a maximum from Phehlukwayo (29 off 23) which swung the match in SA’s favour. The skipper hit a four to seal a four-wicket victory for the Proteas.

‘I take a lot of positivity,’ Phehlukwayo said. ‘Especially the belief that I can do it the second time. If I can do it more consistently, that is something that I would like to do a lot more. It helps batting with a lot of players who are more experienced, if I am in the situation again I think I can take on myself if AB or David (Miller) are not there.

Proteas captain De Villiers was complimentary about the youngster on Sunday. See here. 

Phehlukwayo returned the favour by revealing his experience of playing with his skipper.

‘It was exciting,’ he said. ‘I have never batted with him, he is a world-class player and everyone knows his abilities. I have learnt a lot from him, in terms of game plans and what I need to do, how I need to train. The conditions weren’t really ideal; we took a lot of our time to get used to them, but we executed our game plans really well.’

Phehlukwayo has played 11 ODIs for the Proteas, scoring 95 runs @ 95.00 and has taken 11 scalps @ 37.45.

‘I’ve learnt quite a bit,’ he said about his ODI career. ‘On the bowling end I need to get a few paces up and try to execute my line and lengths more often than not. On the batting side I enjoy pressure situations and I try to give myself time to hit straight, execute my game plans and assess the conditions a lot quicker.’

The second ODI will take place at Hagley Oval, Christchurch on Wednesday, 12.00 am SAST.