Photo Credit: SA20 League
Durban’s Super Giants and Proteas star Heinrich Klaasen believes South Africa’s current success at the ICC World Cup is due to the team not relying on any particular individuals.
The Proteas defeated reigning world champions England by a record 229 runs on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, and in the process earned their third win from four starts at the World Cup.
Klaasen played a major role in the Proteas’ victory, striking a breathtaking 109 off 67 deliveries, but he was ably supported by Joburg Super Kings’ Reeza Hendricks (85), MI Cape Town’s Rassie van der Dussen (60) and young Sunrisers Eastern Cape all-rounder Marco Jansen (75*).
In the previous two victories over Sri Lanka and Australia, it was Durban’s Super Giants batter Quinton de Kock that laid the foundation with successive centuries.
“I think the boys are in fantastic form and like you can see over the whole competition that it’s not every time the same person,” Klaasen said.
“We rely a lot on each other. We trust each other and we’ve got each other’s back at this moment. I think that’s why we’re good and why we can keep going because it’s every time someone else stepping up to the plate.”
The Proteas certainly showed great bouncebackability after the shock defeat to the Netherlands in their previous match.
Klaasen feels that it was a test of character to come back in the brilliant manner that they did, especially for Hendricks who was a late replacement for the unwell captain Temba Bavuma.
He believes this bodes well for the Proteas’ future aspirations at this World Cup in India.
“All the chats after the Netherlands game were extremely positive. We had one or two hard conversations as a group, but our chats were positive to keep reminding the boys to play aggressive and positive cricket.
“And it showed in pressure and tough conditions, especially in the heat, that the boys are willing to take the game on.
“Reeza got a late call, I think it was about 10 minutes before, 5 minutes before the coin toss that Temba was down. And to perform like that, and the couple of the shots that he played under pressure shows where we as a South African cricket group are going.”
SA20, officially known as the Betway SA20 for sponsorship reasons, is a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in South Africa organized by Cricket South Africa (CSA). First held in the 2023 season, the league features six city-based teams. Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the first two editions of the tournament.
