• I don’t need to prove anything – Rassie

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    Rassie van der Dussen insists he won’t be looking to prove a point when he captains the Proteas in a three-match T20I series against the West Indies.

    The 33-year-old was left out of the Proteas’ 15-man World Cup squad, but will lead an understrength team missing several IPL players in the warm-up series in Kingston, Jamaica, on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

    “I don’t feel like I need to prove anything. I think it’s pretty standard what I’m about as a cricketer,” Van der Dussen said.

    “Yes, the coach [Rob Walter] has to pick a World Cup squad. There are only 15 guys that can go. He has to come up with a combination that he feels is the best, the one that gives us the best chance [to succeed].

    “As a greater squad and as a country, that’s what it’s all about. I’m not in a situation where I haven’t played a lot of cricket or even international T20s before.”

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    Van der Dussen said the series was a great opportunity for the likes of Ryan Rickelton and Ottniel Baartman, who have excelled in T20 franchise and provincial cricket but are yet to represent their country in the shortest format.

    “The opportunity here is for the guys who haven’t been here before, haven’t played a lot of [international] cricket, to sort of just get a feel for what’s going on.

    “They’re world-class players in their own right. If those new guys can get in a few performances, that’ll be great.”

    Proteas squad (T20I series vs West Indies): Rassie van der Dussen (c, Lions), Ottneil Baartman (Dolphins), Gerald Coetzee (Titans), Quinton de Kock (Titans), Matthew Breetzke (Warriors), Bjorn Fortuin (Lions), Reeza Hendricks (Lions), Patrick Kruger (Warriors), Wiaan Mulder (Lions), Lungi Ngidi (Titans), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Nqaba Peter (Lions), Ryan Rickelton (Lions), Andile Phehlukwayo (Dolphins), Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans).

    Proteas squad (T20 World Cup): Aiden Markram (c, Titans), Ottniel Baartman (Dolphins), Gerald Coetzee (Titans), Quinton de Kock (Titans), Bjorn Fortuin (Lions), Reeza Hendricks (Lions), Marco Jansen (Warriors), Heinrich Klaasen (Titans), Keshav Maharaj (Dolphins), David Miller (Dolphins), Anrich Nortje (Warriors), Kagiso Rabada (Lions) Ryan Rickelton (Lions), Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans), Tristan Stubbs (Warriors).

    Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images

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    Simon Borchardt