Despite coming up against a meek England side that’s already been knocked out of the ICC Champions Trophy, Proteas batsman Rassie van der Dussen still believes they are a threat.
Van der Dussen said they won’t be changing their game-plan for the game against England in Karachi on Saturday (11am SA time start), and will be treating it the same as every one – with a laser focus.
The fact that England are already out of the tournament after their loss to Afghanistan on Wednesday night is what makes them a dangerous team, the big-hitting batsman explained.
“I think that’s what is going to make them dangerous. Like we mentioned, they have nothing to lose and will be out to prove a point after some really stern criticism from their press back home and online and so forth, from the things that I’ve seen,” Van der Dussen said.
“So, they will be coming and saying ‘Listen, let’s go down fighting’ type of thing, and it makes them dangerous. They already are a dangerous side to start with.
“And for us, yes, we will know exactly what we need to do or don’t need to do.
“Like I said, it doesn’t really change anything. It is a match that we want to win. We want to win against England every time we play against England.
“We just see it in isolation. The nature of short tournaments is that you need to be your best at every game, and that starts with really just putting your focus into what’s next.”
Proteas Batsman Rassie van Der Dussen says England are still a threat despite them being knocked out of the ICC Champions Trophy already. #proteas #icchampionstrophy pic.twitter.com/mOFlRlU1bM
— Jehran Daniel (@JehranD) February 27, 2025
The 36-year-old right-hander said the Proteas don’t need any added motivation to play England, especially with the big names on their line-up.
England had a bitter start to the tournament after a thrashing at the hand of Australia, a loss to Afghanistan and now their final group game against the Proteas, who are looking to win their first major tournament in this century.
Their loss to Afghanistan sealed their fate in the Champions Trophy, and England will now most likely look forward to putting a spanner in the works of South Africa’s campaign.
“I think we were always coming into this match saying that it could be possibly be a quarter-final type of situation, where whoever wins goes through. But it changes for them because they can’t go through anymore. But to be sure, I guess we will see what happens tomorrow (Saturday),” Van der Dussen said.