Dane Paterson finds place in the Proteas ODI squad against Bangladesh

Protean first-class cricketer, Dane Paterson has received his maiden ODI call-up for the national team against Bangladesh. The 28-year-old, along with batsman Temba Bavuma have been included in the 14-member squad that was announced ahead of the 3-match ODI series against Bangladesh. The first ODI of the series is scheduled to be held at Diamond Oval, Kimberley on October 15.

Till date, Paterson has played 85 first-class matches and has scalped 285 wickets at an average of 23.24. However, he has been bereft of an ODI cap for his nation, before being included in the squad for the Bangladesh series. On the international podium, Paterson has put his bowling skills to good use in 4 T20Is for South Africa, with best bowling figures of 4 wickets for 32 runs.

Maiden ODI call-up

Ahead of the much-awaited ODI stint, Cricket South Africa (CSA)’s Convenor of Selectors, Linda Zondi said, “Dane did very well in the T20 International Series against England earlier this year, particularly when it came to death bowling. We now want to see if he can do a similar job in the 50 overs format.” Speaking about the captaincy transition, Zondi said, “Faf du Plessis will lead the Proteas now that he has taken over the captaincy from AB de Villiers in the ODI format. This is the start of our campaign to begin preparing our squad for the 2019 ICC World Cup.”

After AB de Villiers announced his decision to step down as the captain of the limited overs team Faf du Plessis will now take the responsibility of the team in all the three formats.

“Faf du Plessis will lead the Proteas now that he has taken over the captaincy from AB de Villiers in the ODI format. This is the start of our campaign to begin preparing our squad for the 2019 ICC World Cup,” Zondi added speaking about the shift in leadership.

This move is indicative of South Africa’s attempt at diversifying and building up a healthy bench strength ahead of the approaching 2019 World Cup. The team is expected to feel the absence of cricketing heavyweights, Morne Morkel and Chris Morris, both of whom are suffering from injuries. A surprise inclusion in the squad came in the form of JP Duminy, who has hit a dry patch in the ODI format for almost a year and hasn’t scored a single half-century in the time period.

South Africa squad: 

Faf du Plessis (C), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada.