WI versus SA: 'Can't keep making the same mistakes,' says van der Dussen

"We can maybe be just a bit braver," stand-in T20I captain van der Dussen says after the 3-0 defeat to West Indies
Stand-in T20I skipper Rassie van der Dussen believes South Africa were "taught a lesson in how to play in Caribbean conditions" after being swept 3-0 by the West Indies.
Van der Dussen, the second-highest run-scorer in T20 cricket in 2024, stood in for Aiden Markram as captain and No. 4 batsman, but the results were poor. South Africa suffered a second consecutive T20I series defeat against the West Indies. They haven't won a T20I series in the four they've played under white-ball coach Rob Walter, and they keep "making the same mistakes," van der Dussen remarked.
He thought South Africa's batting, particularly up front, was very cautious. "From a batting front, we can maybe be just a bit braver," he said. "We saw the way that the West Indies play, especially in the powerplay. They really take it on. When the ball's new, it's easier to score. It gets tough towards the back end when the ball gets soft."
Batting first, the West Indies scored 64 for 1 and 51 for 1 on powerplays in the first two games, then chasing 164 in the last game on Sunday, they sped to 83 without loss in that time. South Africa was 46 for 3 and 85 for 2 chasing (the latter being their best powerplay score), and 45 for 2 batting first. The obvious difference is the number of wickets lost by a top order that will be required to perform at the T20 World Cup. The obvious difference is the number of wickets lost by a top order that will be required to perform at the T20 World Cup. Both Reeza Hendricks and Quinton de Kock had some individual success - Hendricks with a 51-ball 87 in the first game and de Kock with a 17-ball 41 in the second - but their combination only worked once, and Ryan Rickelton, the No. 3, was unable to get beyond 20.
Van der Dussen attributed some of this to tiredness and some to taking longer than necessary to examine conditions, but he was scathing in his assessment. "We just couldn't adapt early enough. We had a long week in terms of layovers in Miami and so forth. We saw that in the first match, but you can't keep making the same mistakes."
The middle order did not fare much better, with van der Dussen being the only batter from Nos. 4 to 7 to score twice in double digits, but they will be completely replaced by Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, and Tristan Stubbs, who should improve South Africa's power hitting.
What's the problem? None of them were among the top 10 run scorers in the IPL 2024, and they were all erratic to some extent throughout the competition.
Klaasen started the IPL well but faded in the middle, though he did score a half-century in the second qualifier; Markram and Miller only scored one fifty each in 11 and nine innings, respectively; and Stubbs, the best of the lot, scored three fifties and demonstrated good finishing skills during his time in India.
Van der Dussen hoped that their return to the national team would increase the scoring rate. "The guys are very experienced. Many of them have played CPL a few times," he said. "We don't know what conditions we're going to get in the USA but the middle order is made up of very experienced, world-class players."