Rossouw ticks all the boxes

How do you know the Proteas are going to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with a different level of mental readiness?When their bowling coach Allan Donald becomes the first person to crack jokes at the breakfast table about the embarrassing run out at World Cup 1999 at Edgbaston against Australia.

But jokes aside, there are plenty on-field reasons that tell you the Proteas look ready to mount a proper challenge for the World Cup – where they’re going to have to win a fight against their own debilitating fears as much as they will against the opposition.

Forget about the psychological need to get over the infamous C-word or the unsaid, yet obtrusive record of never having won a World Cup knockout game.

Put aside the team-building expeditions to the Alps for a second and you’ll see the Proteas have found comfort, confidence and psychological steel in what they can do with the willow and white leather ball.

It says a lot about a team when its back up top-four batsman, Rilee Rossouw, has scored two sensational ODI centuries and co-starred in two record partnerships in the series against the West Indies.

Rossouw’s 132 from 98 balls – which included eight sixes – in the last of the five-match ODI series confirmed him as one of the best reserves going to the tournament Down Under. It is a compliment to the strength of Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers that Rossouw cannot force his way into the starting XI.

“Rossouw had a tough time of it early in his career, so I’m very happy for him,” said coach Russell Domingo.

“He had five noughts in his first 10 matches but then showed a lot of class to get two hundreds in four ODIs and match- winning hundreds to boot.

“He has always been the type of player who could dominate the opposition and that’s a big plus to have for a young player.

“We’ve batted really well for the last year. I think we’ve had 25 hundreds in our last 30 ODI matches and it is something we’ve emphasised over the last few months.

“I’m not sure if we’ve taken batting to another level but we’re pretty happy with our batting lineup at the moment and the form our batters are in.”

There has been plenty of conjecture bandied about regarding the strength of the West Indies side that toured South Africa and whether the Proteas could draw value from their sparring sessions.

Instead of pushing the Proteas to the edge of a cliff, the Windies have been submissive, obedient almost, in a series that produced six South African centuries – including firsts for Rossouw and David Miller – and none for the islanders.

It’s a recipe for over-confidence and complacency. But Domingo understood the need to manage expectation ahead of the global showpiece.

“The World Cup will be totally different to what we’ve experienced over these past couple of weeks, especially in terms of publicity and pressure,” he said.

“We are trying to play down expectations as much as we can. It is difficult to do but we are looking at it as just another series that is coming up and another opportunity for us to continue playing great cricket.

“I’m happy with how the series went. We have been under the pump in a lot of series from last year.”