Annerie ‘the dog' Dercksen solidifies Proteas Women place with Tri-Series heroics
Image: BackpagePix
Proteas Women batter Annerie Dercksen solidified her place in the team and possibly the World Cup side as well, after her breakthrough performance during the Tri-Series event in Sri Lanka.
Dercksen earned the praise of her captain Laura Wolvaardt and the rest of her team for her heroic efforts with the bat, seemingly dragging her team over the line as they faced gruelling conditions in Colombo.
Dercksen's mental and physical strength was a ray of light in a dull Proteas performance, losing three matches and winning one against Sri Lanka on Friday.
She scored 30 runs against India in the first game and took one wicket, and scored 61 not out in the first game against Sri Lanka, before taking another wicket in the second match against India and scoring 81.
Dercksen capped off the series with a superb ton in her last game against Sri Lanka, carding a destructive 104 off 84 balls.
Coach Mandla Mashimbiyi opted to put Dercksen lower down the order, appearing at No 7.
One could ask if she would have impacted the team's batting performance even better if she had been placed higher up, but it all seemed to work out as she played a vital role in holding the tail together.
Her partnership with Chloe Tryon in Friday's match against Sri Lanka was pivotal to the team reaching north of 300 runs in 50 overs, which proved to be too difficult a task for the home side batters on the day.
Tryon's five-wicket haul made certain of a Proteas victory.
Captain's praise
With a series against the West Indies upcoming and then the World Cup later this year, Dercksen has used the Tri-Series to put a stamp of approval on her name, earning her captain's praise.
'I think she was phenomenal this series and kept getting better and better every game,' Wolvaardt said.
'For her to score that many runs in such hard conditions, especially with so many spinners, was amazing.
'Regarding her spot in the line, Mandla obviously has a vision of where he wants people to bat in the World Cup.
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'She has put her hand up massively for a promotion. We have a bit of the term in the squad, which is 'the dogs', and she's definitely one.
'Chloe and Dercky came in and smashed it at the end, and it was amazing. I think Dercky is proving to be a proper all-round batter.'
Dercksen, on the other hand, praised her batting coach Baakier Abrahams for her performance over the series.
'I spent a couple of days with him in PE (Gqeberha). and we just sort of nailed down strike rotation against spinners,' she said.
'I think I was always able to hit the ball far. I didn't really have a game between that, and I have to give a lot of credit to him for helping me and taking me through some options for those in between moments and how to take on certain bowlers.'
Looking forward
The Proteas Women had to endure brutal conditions in Sri Lanka, but conditions they will need to be acclimatised to if they want to be successful in the World Cup later this year, which will be played in India.
The win against Sri Lanka on Friday came as a consolation for the ladies, who were thrashed three games in a row.
But still, they lifted their heads till the end and pulled off the victory in style, beating the home side by 76 runs.
Besides Dercksen and Tryon's stand-out performances, Wolvaardt also showed immense poise and composure as a captain, steering her team with grit.
Debutant spinner Seshnie Naidu had an expensive last over, which came after she dropped an important catch, visibly affecting her confidence on the field.
Wolvaardt made the change in their bowling attack and brought back Ayabonga Khaka, who immediately made the breakthrough.
Her captaincy was even more revered in the final match after she revealed that she was playing the game while recovering from a stomach illness, which she attributed to something she ate.
'We obviously didn't have the best start to the series, but it's nice to finish with the win. Scoring 300 two games in a row is not something we've done in my time, so it's definitely big progress and heading in the right direction,' Wolvaardt said.
'There were a few moments where we felt like we could have done better and would have been in that final if we were better in small moments.
'But there are lots of things we are doing right, so there's positives to take away from the series.'
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