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Rassie van der Dussen (Rooster)
By Rassie van der Dussen teacher 74 * (32) give him Proteas hope, but it didn’t count for anything in the end, as they were defeated by England in the third and final T20 at Newlands on Tuesday.
Chasing 192 for the victory, England returned home in 17.4 overs with Jos Buttler (67 * out of 46) and Dawid Malan (99 * out of 47) showing that the difference in quality between these sides in this format is enormous.
MARKER: Proteas v England – 3rd T20
The curtain comes down on South Africa’s first series in more than eight months, which are now down 3-0, but it was the nature of Tuesday night’s result that will hurt more than that score.
This was a match in which England enhanced its credentials as a giant in the global white ball game; they have now moved alongside Australia at the top of the T20 rankings, while for South Africa, this was a stark reminder of the work ahead. .
The Proteas, too often, looked across the sea in the field, without ideas and with their heads hanging. They were beaten and beaten, with Malan’s tackles too good to stop.
Van der Dussen, 31, had previously reaffirmed his position as one of South African cricket’s most valuable assets with a simply impressive inning of his own that included 5 fours and 5 6s and catapulted the hosts to 191/3.
In response, England ended in 192/1.
Having won the toss and with Captain Quinton de Kock choosing to hit first, it looked like it would be another frustrating day in the office for the South Africans with their superior order unable to prevail in the English attack.
Temba Bavuma (32 of 26) looked to be in good touch after De Kock (17 of 12) came out first, but he just didn’t seem to have that ability to move forward and hurt English bowlers.
After 15 overs, the Proteas were 107/3, advancing 7.13 at the end, with Faf du Plessis 20 * (23) and Van der Dussen 25 * (15).
What followed, however, was the English destruction that Proteas fans would have been waiting for throughout the series.
In a display of brutal, clean strokes and immense skill, Van der Dussen and Du Plessis broke 84 it is executed in the last 5 overs.
That included Van der Dussen taking Jofra Archer for 22 runs at 17, while Chris Jordan traveled for 20 at 20.
Du Plessis ended in 52 * (37)But more importantly, his association with Van der Dussen was 127 * in 66 and there would have been a sense of optimism in the Proteas dressing room after De Kock stressed on Monday how much his team needed this victory.
It wasn’t going to be. It wasn’t even close.
As seen throughout the series, this English team knows how to win from a variety of positions and while this was the biggest chase on the tour so far, it was easily the most comfortable.
For the third time in as many games, the Proteas presented only five real bowling options and that would hurt them once again.
It didn’t help, of course, that Kagiso Rabada was ruled out due to injury (he will miss the next ODI series as well) to be replaced by Lutho Sipamla, 22 (0/45 in 2.4), who struggled immensely.
The Proteas got rid of Jason Roy (16 of 14) when Anrich Nortje beat him for his pace and caught him LBW, but the English higher order pedigree means they have a top six full of match winners.
What followed was difficult for South African cricket fans to see and the sight of the wheels coming off was spectacular.
By the time they were done, Malan and Buttler had reached 167 * (90) for their second-field partnership, the highest in T20 cricket.
Scores coming soon
Proteas 191/3
VD Dussen 74 * (32)
F du Plessis 52 * (37)
B Stokes 2/26 in 3 overs
England 192/1
D Malan 99 * (47)
J Buttler 67 * (46)
