Proteas won back public with Test victory, says Rassie van der Dussen

Proteas batter Rassie van der Dussen believes winning the World Test Championship (WTC) at Lord's last week will inspire the SA public to take the Proteas seriously again.

He believes the victory will go a long way to heal scars for former stars such as Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers, who were among many who suffered disappointments in 27 years of near misses for the national team at major tournaments after SA’s readmission to international sports in the early 1990s. 

Cricket in the country also endured a steep downfall in the recent past due to a host of factors, mostly the serious governance issues that plagued Cricket SA in the early 2020s. 

The Proteas went from having big sponsors to none as potential investors sought to distance themselves from the troubled sport. Like the sponsors, interest from the public dwindled. 

In the past two to three years, administration at Cricket SA, after changes in personnel, has improved.

Van der Dussen believes the team won the hearts of the public again with their superb victory in a glorious WTC final.

“I think it will make people take Proteas cricket seriously again. In the past few years, even though we [the Proteas] have got to [World Cup] semifinals, people always compare cricket and rugby,” Van der Dussen said.

“It's like cricket is good, but rugby wins World Cups type of thing.

 “After all the stuff the Cricket SA board went through in the early 2020s and all that political drama, it’s almost like people weren’t taking Cricket SA, and the Proteas by extension, seriously. They were like, if you win it’s a bonus.

“Even the narrative leading up to this final, was like, ‘yeah, the Proteas only played the lesser teams and snuck into the final’. It’s like, what do you have to do to get the credit you deserve?

“I think this win is going to do that.” 

Van der Dussen believes Cricket SA's turnaround has been integral in supporting the work of coach Shukri Conrad to get the Proteas flourishing again. 

“They’re doing some good things at CSA and the Proteas are doing some good things. It’s a culmination of years of, I want to say graft, and years of being honest and getting the right people in the right places, years of good guys putting their heads down and putting in the work and keeping believing.” 

After Kyle Verreynne hit the winning runs to secure the Test mace, former players, including Steyn and De Villiers, made emotional appearances around Lord’s. 

Van der Dussen believes the Proteas winning the WTC is an achievement that not only belongs to the 15 players who were in the squad in London, but also to the likes of Steyn and De Villiers, who helped pave the way for the success. 

“This is a feat that goes hand in hand with the song the Proteas sing: ‘The fire stays burning, to those before us, and those to come, we play together as one’.

“The song started in the times when the Proteas fire started with [2003-14 captain] Graeme [Smith] and AB and Dale, that batch. I think it’s AB who was the main driver behind it.

“There were 15 guys there [in the squad at Lord’s] but I think it’s come such a long way in putting to bed a lot of things the guys have been dealing with and carrying on themselves.

“Through all the ICC events and all knockout matches we lost, there are guys who feel responsible and this puts that to bed.”

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