Van der Dussen to captain Proteas in brief T20 series in the West Indies

Rassie van der Dussen will captain the Proteas in their brief three-match series in the West Indies next week.  Van der Dussen, who is not part of the Proteas squad for the T20 World Cup, was made skipper with Aiden Markram still playing in the IPL for the Sunrisers Hyderabad who qualified for the play-offs earlier this week. “Rassie brings a wealth of experience. It is a relatively inexperienced group. He offers huge value given the T20 cricket he has been playing,” said Proteas coach Rob Walter.

Van der Dussen said earlier this week he was disappointed by his omission from the World Cup but it was important for him to focus on helping some of the young members of the squad travelling to the West Indies for three T20 Internationals in Kingston, Jamaica.  When Ryan Rickelton found out he’d been selected for the Proteas T20 World Cup squad, his excitement was quelled by the disappointment he felt for …“Sharing my experiences from previous World Cups is something I want to do in the next two weeks. My primary role is to see what I can instil in them. If there is one moment, where they can recall something that I said and it helps them, my job is fulfilled.”

Meanwhile, Anrich Nortjé, Quinton de Kock and Gerald Coetzee, whose teams have been knocked out of contention in the IPL will join the squad in the West Indies next week.  Thereafter, said Walter, players would come in dribs and drabs.  The Hyderabad trio of Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen may travel straight to the US depending on their team’s progress in the playoffs, as may Keshav Maharaj who is with the Rajasthan Royals.   But Walter is satisfied the whole group will be together by May 26 when they travel to Florida for their only warm-up game before the World Cup.  Six of the squad headed to the West Indies will also play in the World Cup, with the Proteas’ opening match in the tournament taking place at the Nassau International Stadium in New York, on June 3, against Sri Lanka.  Rassie van der Dussen admits that he finds himself in “a weird situation” as he prepares to head to the West Indies with the Proteas this weekend.“There is zero data, everything is new. They’re using drop-in pitches which have been created in Adelaide and brought in. The drop-in pitches in general tend to be quite consistent, they play on them a lot in New Zealand,” said Walter.  “The wickets traditionally in Adelaide have been excellent. I expect them to be good wickets. There are a few games there before our first one, so that will give us the chance to look at a few things.” The Proteas travel to the Caribbean on Saturday, with first match taking place on May 25.   Matthew Breetzke,Ottniel Baartman, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Patrick Kruger, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen (capt), Quinton de Kock, Gerald Coetzee, Anrich Nortjé.