Van der Dussen sees proof of South African change after WTC win

Winning this year's World Test Championship final could free up South Africa to play without fear, according to veteran player Rassie van der Dussen. Although van der Dussen was neither part of the WTC win nor in the most recent T20 World Cup squad, he has been part of the South African system for the last 17 years and can already see the change that winning a major trophy has made.

"It feels like there's a difference. Maybe it's boiled over from winning the Test Championship because we won that match when it counts, so it's almost like we can experiment more," van der Dussen, who is standing in as South Africa's T20I captain for the Zimbabwe tri-series, said ahead of the team's next match.

"It's obviously Shukri [Conrad]'s first time in charge of the white-ball sides, but the mindset is different. We are not trying things for the sake of trying it, or guys being chosen for the sake of being chosen. It's about trying things with the understanding that it's okay if you get it wrong, but you can only get to the other side if you try it properly and authentically. What Shukri brings in terms of environment, and in terms of a mindset, is that freedom."

Conrad will coach South Africa through the 2025-27 WTC cycle, during which the white-ball teams will also play in the 2026 T20 World Cup and the 2027 ODI World Cup, which they will co-host.

Though there is always pressure on teams to win in the build-up to these events, some of the pressure around the South Africa squad has eased after their WTC victory - their first global trophy since 1998 (when they won the ICC Knockout) and first with the word "World" in it. Winning the trophy reinforced the set-up's belief in their systems, especially because Conrad is a local coach who has done things his own way.

He will likely be cut some slack early in his tenure, though he will know that his predecessor, Rob Walter, was increasingly in the spotlight for the team's poor bilateral record in ODIs and T20Is. Conrad has already indicated he wants to avoid the same by having his best players available whenever possible.

Already, this has turned out not to be the case: Aiden Markram, the regular T20I captain, along with Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Marco Jansen (who is recovering from thumb surgery), Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj, have all been rested from the tri-series. As a result, Van der Dussen is leading a side that includes several fringe players but wants them to keep up the winning momentum.

"There's obviously responsibility, and we want to win every match. Shukri has said that many times, and we want to win every match that we play, but we are also encouraged to be our best version, play the way we want to play, and play the way the team wants to play. If we fall short, that's okay, we fall short on our terms. We'll try to be better next time. There's no pressure from a management point of view. We know what's expected of us."

There is also the added expectation that some players in this squad - Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis, George Linde and Gerald Coetzee in particular - could force their way into becoming first-choice picks. The function of a series like this, among other things, is to provide fringe players the platform to show what they can do at the international level.

"Lhuan-dre, with what he has done domestically and at the SA20, you could just see that this guy needs to play at this level. And Brevis, through performance over the last six months, is putting guys under pressure," van der Dussen said. "As a player in a team, that's the positive pressure you want. You want someone breathing down your neck, because that's fair. If you don't perform, there's a guy that's going to take your place, and that's always good in a team environment. It's not like I can rest on my laurels because there's no one really pushing me for my spot. In every department - bowling, spin bowling, fielding, keeping, batting, middle-order batting - there are guys putting their hands up and saying I want to be part of this team. That keeps you on your toes."

Even with this context in mind, South Africa will admit they have not been at their best so far, especially when it comes to the top-order's performances. They were 38 for 3 chasing 142 against Zimbabwe, and 62 for 5 against New Zealand, a match where they finished 21 runs short.

Given that Zimbabwe have lost both their matches so far, South Africa still remains favourites to reach the final, along with New Zealand, but there is work to be done. "What we want to see is progress in terms of how we want to play," van der Dussen said. "We've been together for a week now, and we are getting a better understanding going between the guys. If we can start to get it even better, then we can make it to the final and play our best game on Saturday."