A fourth duck in six innings for Rilee Rossouw, a sigh of relief for Quinton de Kock, the David Miller experiment.
Shot of the Day: The truncated fixture in relatively boggy conditions didn’t allow for much fluid strokeplay, but Hashim Amla’s ability to successfully negotiate the vast amounts of swing generated by Tim Southee with an exquisite cover drive proved a treat to the eye.
Delivery of the Day: Jimmy Neesham produced an outstanding yorker to ensure David Miller’s promotion to four in the order didn’t reap dividends. Granted, Miller’s response to the sniping delivery wasn’t ideal.
Batsman of the Match: Quinton de Kock had endured a somewhat of a dearth in form since racing to 1,000 ODI runs in record time. This week’s 80 not out, though, restored faith in himself – and from others.
Bowler of the Match: Matt Henry did a fine job in filling in for Trent Boult. The right-arm seamer exploited the conditions superbly, snaring the prized scalp of Hashim Amla.
Fielder of the Match: Nathan McCullum held the important catch that got rid of Amla and saved several runs on the outskirts of the inner ring to stifle many de Kock drives.
Milestone of the Day: In an esoteric landmark more than a numerical achievement, South Africa’s decision to make as many as three changes to the bowling – Kyle Abbott, Wayne Parnell and Ryan McLaren returned – inspired absolute confidence in the bench strength
Fail of the Day: Monday brought another duck for Rilee Rossouw. That’s four in the first six innings of his career. Rossouw, however, can take heart – Jacques Kallis’ opening foray into Test match cricket brought a very lean stretch of run before class upstaged form.
Key Juncture: Miller’s arrival after Rossouw’s fall certainly had the bigger picture in mind. In isolation, AB de Villiers or McLaren arguably would have been the better pick at the time – but the Proteas could afford to experiment with retaining two left-handers at the crease, albeit for a brief period.
Selection Poser: The decision to rest Faf du Plessis afforded Rossouw the chance to perform well at first-drop. He didn’t oblige, though, and was no good down the order in the second ODI either. The long bridge between domestic and international cricket is proving a major challenge for the 25-year-old…
Quote of the Day: ‘Coming here before the World Cup was all about getting used to conditions, hopefully we are fully prepared when we get to the World Cup.’ – de Villiers.
By Jonhenry Wilson
