Heinrich Klaasen is normally a straight shooter, but even he shouldered arms at Boland Park.
Klaasen was visibly animated after having his middle stump uprooted by Pakistan seamer Shaheen Afridi in the 45th over of the first ODI, which the Proteas lost by three wickets in Paarl on Tuesday.
Klaasen was striking the ball beautifully beforehand, rapidly moving to 86 off 97 balls (7x4 , 2x6) before Afridi sent down a peach that reverse-swung appreciably to get through his defences.
Returning to the dug-out, Klaasen’s hand gestures indicated how much the ball had actually moved.
When asked at the post-match media engagement about his thoughts on how the Pakistan seamers managed to get such appreciable reverse-swing with two white balls in operation, Klaasen was hesitant to give his full views – but shared his previous experience of playing at Boland Park.
“I’ve played here for 10 years, 13 years. With rain here last night, a green outfield like we had, I have never seen the ball reverse like that in 20 overs,” Klaasen said.
“Balls are only 25 overs old in a one-day game, so in 20 overs, that ball was shaping like a four-day game in quite proper heat.
“So, yeah, other than that, I’m not going to comment on anything.”
The Pakistan seamers certainly were excellent during the final 10 ‘death’ overs, conceding just 40 runs and picking up four wickets in the process.
Klaasen’s dismissal was particularly crucial during this period as it left the tail-enders with the challenge of ensuring the Proteas batted out their full complement of 50 overs.
The South Africans will certainly hope to rectify this at Newlands on Thursday in the second ODI (2pm start) by having a set batter at the crease during such a vital time in the game.
Klaasen admitted that the cluster of wickets at the top, when the Proteas lost four wickets for 18 runs, did not help their cause either, as they only mustered 239/9 in their 50 overs.
Pakistan, led by a well-timed hundred by Saim Ayub (109) and Salman Ali Agha’s unbeaten 82, reached the target with three balls to spare in an exciting finish.
“I think we were about 20-30 runs short. It played like a normal Boland Park wicket, so we didn’t think it was a 300-plus score,” Klaasen said.
“But after those four wickets had fallen, I think in four overs or something like that, it put us quite a bit on the back foot with some of our key players.
“Then the ball actually started to reverse nicely at the back-end of the innings, which made it difficult to just pull that trigger.”
While the Proteas will of course look to bounce back and level the series to set up a decider in the Pink ODI at the Wanderers on Sunday, the series also forms an integral part of the preparation for next year’s ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
With the Proteas playing a limited number of ODIs and the availability of all their first-choice players being a rarity, it does affect the side’s ability to build momentum in the longer white-ball format.
Klaasen therefore stressed that it is imperative that each player takes ownership of their own game.
“I think it’s just about keeping your form as a playing individual and just making sure you do your job. If you do your job, then the team will benefit from it,” he said.
“That’s the only way you can get that momentum. The T20s gave us a little bit of momentum with a winning mindset, and we need to find ways to scrape to win (ODI) games as well.
“Finding that way, obviously it’s been a long season for us without wins, so it’s tough to get that momentum a little bit back to us.
“But that’s why we play professional sport: to find a way to get it back to our side.
“But to get it just in one format is impossible in this era.”
The Proteas will most likely be without Keshav Maharaj again at Newlands on Thursday after the left-arm spinner went for a scan on the groin strain on Wednesday that ruled him out of Tuesday’s ODI.
Coach Rob Walter will also have to make a late call on David Miller, as the middle-order batter has not played since the first T20I in Kingsmead last week due to a calf strain. | Independent Media Sport
Squads For Newlands
Proteas: Temba Bavuma (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen.
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan.