Mulder stars with bat, ball
Ken Borland
Proteas coach Ottis Gibson will have good reason to like the cut of Wiaan Mulder’s jib after the young all-rounder’s stellar performance in the warm-up game against a useful Sri Lanka Board XI in Colombo yesterday.
Mulder’s timely run-a-ball 56 lifted the South Africans to 293, the visitors being dismissed in the last of their allotted 50 overs, and the seamer then struck crucial blows with the ball as he took 3/12 in 4.1 overs, the Sri Lankans falling 63 runs short.
The margin of victory was almost identical to the last-wicket stand of 60 Mulder put on with Junior Dala (19*), the 20-yearold showing maturity beyond his years. They weren’t the only new arrivals for the ODI series to shine, with Reeza Hendricks scoring a stroke-filled 59 off 54 balls and David Miller showing his class with 40, as they lifted the Proteas from a miserable 125/5. Captain Faf du Plessis had scored 71 of those as the rest of the top-order failed.
“It was a massive opportunity for me to put my name in the hat, and it was a good day for me. It gave me a lot of confidence, it’s a special day for me because that’s what an all-rounder wants to do, to contribute to the team. Fortunately we were able to find a way over the line and the five guys coming in for the ODIs brought so much energy,” Mulder said.
The news for the trio of batsmen desperately in need of some runs – Quinton de Kock (0), Hashim Amla (16) and Aiden Markram, run out for a single batting at No 4 – was not so cheerful and coach Gibson is going to have to spend a lot of time at his hotel desk pondering his selection for the first ODI on Sunday. Hendricks, in particular, made a strong case for his inclusion, while Heinrich Klaasen unfortunately did not get some much-needed time out in the middle due to a tight groin.
Tabraiz Shamsi, ludicrously benched for the second Test, nailed down his qualifications as first-choice spinner for the ODIs with a crucial contribution of 3/41 in nine overs.