Rassie van der Dussen has accepted Proteas coach Rob Walter’s challenge to improve his ODI strike rate by 5%.
The 34-year-old has an outstanding ODI record, having scored 1,874 runs in 49 matches at an average of 56.78 and a strike rate of 88.94, with four hundreds and 12 fifties.
Walter, though, wants him to start quicker and get to 100 in 90 balls instead of 110.
“The bigger picture is that with totals of 340 or 360 we can put our opponents under more scoreboard pressure if we can take that approach,” Van der Dussen told Rapport newspaper.
“You grow when you are taken out of your comfort zone. Rob and JP [Duminy, the batting coach] encouraged us to improve by 5% as batsmen and I accepted the challenge,”
Van der Dussen scored the second-most runs for the Proteas at the 2019 World Cup in England – 344 at an average of 62.20 and a strike rate of 90.40. Only captain Faf du Plessis scored more (387) as South Africa finished seventh on the 10-team log and failed to reach the semi-finals.
“I batted well in the 2019 World Cup, but it was a disappointing campaign for us as a SA team. What contributed to my success was that I was a younger player , surrounded by senior guys like Faf, Hashim [Amla] and JP, and I looked up to them a lot. I was also allowed to bat freely.
“Now, four years later, I am better prepared because I have more exposure got against the bigger teams I feel my level of play is close to 100% before the World Cup.”
The Proteas will begin their 2023 World Cup campaign with a match against Sri Lanka in New Delhi on 7 October.
Photo: Charle Lombard/Gallo Images
