Rassie van der Dussen

A patient yet stern accumulator, lanky right-hand batter Hendrik Erasmus van der Dussen, better known as Rassie, is an integral part of South Africa’s international setup. Perhaps batting in a style that better suited the generation passed, van der Dussen grinded it out in the domestic circuit with a steadfast vigil. A classic Mark Ramprakash case of South African cricket - a domestic legend, but not quite making the cut for the national side. That may be a little harsh, but Rassie van der Dussen could be counted as rather unfortunate not to have played for the national team earlier - because of the abundance of all-rounders, the quota system, or otherwise.

A top-order batsman for the Lions in South Africa, van der Dussen’s formative years as a professional cricketer were spent under the shadow South Africa’s solid middle-order consisting of legends like AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and David Miller. Even as van der Dussen churned out the runs in the domestic circuit - averaging over 40 in First Class cricket and close to 50 in List A cricket, he found himself overlooked for the national setup.

Unfettered, van der Dussen eventually made a name for himself by plying his trade in various T20 Leagues. He was drafted into the 2018 Caribbean Premier League as an injury replacement for the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots, having been picked on merit after scoring an unprecedented 959 runs in 10 matches in the Sunfoil series of 2017/18. He was also picked for the inaugural Global T20 league in Canada by the Vancouver Knights. He ended up as the team’s highest run-getter (255 runs) and subsequently made the cut for the Highveld Lions after exhibiting more urgency in scoring, bringing about a true revolution in his T20 game.

The elusive national call-up finally came in 2018 when he was called up for a T20I series against Zimbabwe. An ODI cap followed early next year against Pakistan and van der Dussen grabbed his opportunity with both hands. On debut, he scored a superb 93 and backed it up with an 80 in the following game. He didn’t get a bat in the third game and fell for 18 in the fourth but he reaffirmed his class with an unbeaten 50 in the fifth and final game to finish the series with an average of 120.5.

A string of consistent performances in the next couple of series saw him claim a ticket for the mega event - the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

Van der Dussen’s performance in the 2019 World Cup only affirmed his spot in the side. He headed into the World Cup as a vastly experienced professional cricketer and yet was only 9 matches old in ODI cricket. Playing with a maturity that was well beyond his slim experience in international cricket, van der Dussen ended the tournament as South Africa’s second-highest run getter, only behind skipper Faf du Plessis.

A Test cap came in the Boxing Day Test against England in 2019 and by early March 2020, van der Dussen had bagged a central contract from Cricket South Africa.

His maiden international century came a year later in an ODI against Pakistan. Steering his side out of trouble, van der Dussen finally reached the three-figure mark having fallen in the nineties twice previously and aged 32 years and 54 days, he became the oldest South African cricketer to score maiden hundred.

A mainstay in South Africa’s setup by now, van der Dussen was named in South Africa’s squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup. He left a mark in South Africa’s last game of the tournament by scoring a blistering 94 not-out against England. A broken finger ruled him out of the 2022 T20 World Cup but he was named in South Africa’s 15-man squad for the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

Written by Anurag Hegde