Ken Borland

All-rounder Dwaine Pretorius, whose clever bowling has been reliable for the Proteas at the death, has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to a fractured thumb, Cricket South Africa announced on Thursday.

Pretorius is believed to have suffered the injury when he dropped a relatively straightforward catch at midwicket in the final T20 against India earlier this week. CSA chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra has confirmed that the fracture, in his left thumb, will require surgery, and the 33-year-old has returned to South Africa for the operation.

Marco Jansen, the young all-rounder who has produced inspired performances at Test level, will replace Pretorius in the Proteas ODI squad that began a three-match series against India in Lucknow on Thursday, but the selectors are still mulling who will be the replacement in the actual World Cup squad.

The tall left-armer Jansen would add some menace and variety to the attack in Australia, but there are the death-bowling skills to consider as well, and Andile Phehlukwayo could get the nod as a more like-for-like replacement.

Both Phehlukwayo and Jansen were named as travelling reserves for the T20 World Cup.

The absence of Pretorius will rob the Proteas of another experienced campaigner, following Rassie van der Dussen’s withdrawal after breaking a finger in England.

Left-arm paceman Wayne Parnell is the other bowling all-rounder in the squad and, if there is swing about, he can be a dangerous wicket-taker, as well as usually having good skills at the death.

Rassie van der Dussen, the reliable batsman who made yet another half-century on Friday as the T20 series against Pakistan was lost 3-1, admitted after the game that it has been a particularly tough time for the Proteas, and especially the regulars left behind to play with the second-stringers.

With five first-choice players departing for the IPL, South Africa’s resources were always going to be stretched against a full-strength Pakistan side that had already clinched the ODI series, and the home team then suffered another two major blows when captain Temba Bavuma and Van der Dussen himself suffered injuries.

Van der Dussen was able to return for the penultimate match, but his 52 off 36 balls was not able to prevent a three-wicket defeat with a ball remaining, to end another disappointing summer for the Proteas.

“We’ve had our challenges with the guys leaving for the IPL and then the injury blows. If you take seven of the best players out of any team they will be out of it for a while, but that has allowed guys to come in and show what they’re about, a lot of them are experienced franchise players with a lot of cricket under their belt this season.

“There were individuals who were brilliant at different stages, but as a team we weren’t consistent enough, we didn’t deliver a complete performance except in the second match at the Wanderers. We were patchy, which was not going to be good enough for a series against a Pakistan team that is settled with world-class batsmen and bowlers. It’s a bitter pill but we will use these lessons to grow,” Van der Dussen said.

Van der Dussen lauded his bowlers for their effort in almost defending a sub-standard total of just 144, saying the info from the South African batsmen was that it became harder to score as the ball became softer. Both innings reflected that, with the Proteas losing seven wickets for 36 runs from the 13^th over, and Pakistan suffering a collapse of 37 for five from the 10^th over.

“This pitch was bit dryer than for the previous game, the cracks had opened up more and it became slower as the ball got softer, the cutters started gripping, and the scoreboard reflects that. Par score was probably 170 to 180 though, so we were definitely short of runs. At Centurion, on a good pitch, to defend even 200 is tough.

“So I’m very proud of the way our bowlers went about it and the way they have grown this series. At the end of the day you have to look at yourself in the mirror and you know if you have given your all. We wanted to fight every ball, be relentless and never give up. And we fought back very well, which I’m really proud of. If you have to lose then that’s the way to do it,” Van der Dussen said.