Johannesburg - A packed Wanderers came for AB de Villiers on Saturday night, but then got a ton of bees instead.
Fortunately no-one got stung, except the Sri Lankans, for whom this tour of South Africa can’t end quickly enough. Unfortunately for them there’s still two more ODI’s left and with South Africa motivated to chase a second consecutive ODI series whitewash, there’ll be no letting up from the hosts.
Niroshan Dickwella, Sri Lanka’s confident opener, who top scored with 74 at the weekend, tried to put a brave face on their troubles, saying they’ve learned a lot. But they also have the look of a punch-drunk group at the moment, and the confidence of some of their young talented batsmen, like Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva, not to mention the more experienced Dinesh Chandimal, has taken a serious hit.
South Africa played well on Saturday night on a pitch De Villiers said was slightly more challenging than he had assumed when sending the tourists into bat. Nevertheless a patient approach with the new ball, some magnificent catching ensured the home side’s batsmen didn’t need to break sweat in the pursuit.
The Proteas overhauled the Sri Lankan target of 164 with 18 overs still to spare. “I would have batted first if I could have it all over again,” said De Villiers, who finished unbeaten on 60. “I thought the wicket was quite tough. Thank goodness we bowled them out before 40 overs ... 250 would have been a very difficult total to chase. It’s a series win and we’re all very happy.”
Head groundsman at the Wanderers, Bethuel Buthelezi, uses a fire extinguisher to try and clear the bees. Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko, Reuters
Saturday’s victory stretched the Proteas’ unbeaten record in ODIs on home soil to 12, a remarkable show of consistency for a side that was without De Villiers in October when it thrashed Australia and has been experimenting with personnel with an eye on the Champions Trophy later in the year. One such test was calling up Dwaine Pretorius to the starting side on Saturday for Wayne Parnell.
“It’s a series in which we are trying to get the whole squad playing. I thought Wayne did a fantastic job in the first two ODIs (but) it’s Dwaine’s hometown. We just wanted to give him a go, build some confidence and it worked out really well. Hopefully we’ll see more in Cape Town and Centurion.”
Pretorius walked away with the Man of the Match award for his figures of 3/19 and two catches and relished the experience of playing in front a packed ‘Bullring.’ The key to his success was not to offer the Sri Lankan batsmen any width: “I just tried to keep it tight and tried to hit the top of the stumps,” he said.
De Villiers praised Pretorius’ discipline and willingness to listen.
“He’s pretty accurate, he’s consistent with his areas and he’s open to advice from some of the senior guys and I like to work with bowlers like that, who want to chat. He’s happy to use the short ball when the time is right. He’s got this knack of picking up wickets at the right time. He’s done that the last few seasons domestically and today was the same, hopefully that trend continues internationally.”
If South Africa is to continue with the player rotation then left-arm wrist spinner Tabriaz Shamsi will get some game time.