Times Media
TELFORD VICE, Cape Town
BRING on the Aussies. The Proteas’ romp to a 3-0 whitewash over Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Thursday will make South Africans bullish about AB de Villiers’ team’s chances in the triangular series that starts in Harare on Monday.
SA, who won the first two games by 93 and 61 runs, surged to victory by seven wickets with 32.4 overs to spare on Thursday. The result was never in doubt after they dismissed Zimbabwe for 165, of which Elton Chigumbura owned 90, in 39.5 overs.
“We came here wanting to beat Zimbabwe 3-0, and the way we finished it off today made me very happy,” Faf du Plessis said.
Sadly for Zimbabweans, the home side have played progressively more poorly since they put up a decent fight in the once-off test in Harare earlier this month; a match SA nonetheless won by nine wickets with a day to spare.
Even when SA have lost wobbled off the straight and narrow - they batted mournfully slowly in the test and were dismissed for 257 in the second ODI - Zimbabwe have failed to claim the advantage.
There was no chance of that happening yesterday, what with SA dominating from the first ball of the match - actually, the third, with which Kyle Abbott trapped Hamilton Masakadza in front - to the last, which JP Duminy smashed over midwicket for six.
And that, mind, by a SA team without De Villiers, Hashim Amla and Imran Tahir, who were all left out. They were replaced by Rilee Rossouw, Mthokozisi Shezi and Marchant de Lange. That means that SA have sensibly given everyone in the squad a game ahead of the more serious business against Australia.
Only Sikander Raza, Chigumbura and Sean Williams made it to double figures for Zimbabwe, although SA gave their opponents a hand by bowling enough wides to add 11 runs to the total.
Chigumbura, who is in his first series as Zimbabwe’s one-day captain and was promoted up the order on Thursday after Brendan Taylor was dropped, spent 102 balls on his 50 and hammered the remaining 40 off 20 deliveries.
He was last out when he tried to heave De Lange over cow corner only to be deceived and bowled by a slower delivery. That ended a stand of 46 in which Chigumbura’s partner, Tinashe Panyangara, did not score a run.
Shezi, who made his debut, stuck out with figures of 1/8 from six overs. Batsmen were never sure whether they would receive a regular delivery, a slower ball, or something inbetween.
SA’s other debutant, Rossouw, also made a memorable start to his career, but for the wrong reasons - he was run out off the first ball he faced by Malcolm Waller’s brilliant dive and flick onto the stumps from mid-off.
Not that that mattered in the bigger scheme of things. Quinton de Kock was a whirlwind of strokes and attacking intent and took SA to within 22 runs of victory before holing out for 84.
Du Plessis, SA’s captain on Thursday, broke through the shell he tends to bat in by clipping his 40 off 30 balls, eight of them hit for four.
“The wicket was better and the ball was coming on better, so I could play a few shots,” Du Plessis said. “When ‘Hash’ and ‘Quinny’ are there, you don’t have to do that.”
De Kock and Du Plessis shared 73 before Duminy helped De Kock add 70 as SA made short work of the target, reaching 171/3 in 27.2 overs.
After three games of little more than match practice, SA’s first engagement in the triangular is the real thing: against Australia.
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