Bouyant Proteas positive ahead of second ODI

Proteas seamer Sisanda Magala opted to praise the performance of the team rather than taking in too much individual acclaim following the impressive 27-run win over England in game one of their three-match Betway One-Day International (ODI) series in Bloemfontein on Friday.

The 32-year-old, representing South Africa for the fourth time, claimed a notable 3-46 that helped him claim the Player of the Match prize at the Mangaung Oval.

Magala’s performance came after the tourists had raced to 146 for none inside 20 overs as they hunted down the 299 set by the hosts. It inspired a memorable Proteas fightback and, aided by four wickets from Anrich Nortje, the English were eventually restricted to 271 all out in 44.2 overs.

“I was a little bit nervous to be honest considering how England play, their style and their brand,” Magala said afterwards. “So I was a little bit nervous but I was also excited to let that first ball go.

“I think we did well overall not to allow them to get too many big partnerships other than that first one. I think continuously getting wickets at important times really helped us and gave us the belief that we could defend that score. The currency was wickets and we kept getting a lot of them.”

The match was the first for South Africa’s new Proteas coaching regime of Rob Walter, the new white-ball head, and Shukri Conrad, the new Test coach who is taking charge of the series as the former wraps up his commitments in New Zealand.

Magala said that victory was all that counted for the team as they look to make a positive start in what is a new era for South Africa.

He said: “The most important thing is winning and that's what we managed to do. It's a bit pointless if the team is losing. We have to try and get the team over the line as often as possible. As Rob said in our meeting, it's important for us to win those key moments and I think we did that tonight, which is really good.”

Rassie van der Dussen, the hero with the bat for the Proteas after his fourth career century (111 off 117 balls, 6 fours, 1 six), felt the result was a huge injection of confidence for their dressing room ahead of match two on Sunday.

“Whenever you beat England it gives you great confidence, they obviously are the world champions, and considering the way they have been playing in the last few years,” Van der Dussen said. “To beat them is always a feather in the cap for our team.”

The result was also priceless for the home side in the broader context of World Cup qualification. They entered the series precariously placed in 11th spot on the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League table with only five games remaining. And now with four to play, victory lifted them up to 10th, although they still have plenty to do to give themselves the best possible chance of avoiding a qualification tournament in their quest to play in India later this year.

“We're not really thinking about that qualification,” Van der Dussen added. “Whatever happens, so if we need to go to qualify then we'll do that if not and we end up winning two or three more games from the remaining four or five then that will be okay.”

Proteas ODI squad against England

Temba Bavuma (captain, DP World Lions), Quinton de Kock (Momentum Multiply Titans), Reeza Hendricks (DP World Lions), Marco Jansen (Dafabet Warriors), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Sisanda Magala (DP World Lions), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Janneman Malan (Gbets Rocks), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Anrich Nortje (Dafabet Warriors), Wayne Parnell (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Kagiso Rabada (DP World Lions), Tabraiz Shamsi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Rassie van der Dussen (DP World Lions).