Proteas fast bowler Dane Paterson is in the limelight after his attention worthy performance of 4/32 in South Africa’s 19 runs loss at the hands of England last night. His bowling show was one of the positives in the otherwise shoddy day of cricket at Cardiff for the Proteas.
Talking about the performance, Paterson said that he didn’t try to complicate things and it worked out.
“I enjoy it and I think I’ve gotten used to that pressure,” Paterson told reporters in Cardiff.
“There are so many good players, you’ve got to keep on practising and putting in the hours. I’m just happy that it paid off. It’s just about keeping it simple and if it works, it works.”
The 28-year-old made his debut in January this year against Sri Lanka at Centurion, Since then, he has been seen as a bright prospect in the limited overs format. So far, he has only four T20Is under his belt which is mainly due to the competition from other all-rounders like Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo, but a couple of more performances like Cardiff can pave the way for him to gain a permanent place in the side.
Things certainly look bright for him, especially after the praises he received from skipper AB de Villiers who told the media that Paterson is a “great prospect” for South African cricket.
“We have a lot of good death bowlers with (Chris) Morris, Morne Morkel and even Imran Tahir. It’s a huge honour playing for your country and knowing that your captain backs you, especially in situations like that where you have players who can bowl at the death.”
Initially, South Africa was subjected to some good amount of thrashing from English debutant Dawid Malan, who hammered 76 from just 44 balls. His exploits made a 200+ total look like a fair possibility for England. But, Paterson’s timely intervention, which triggered a sort of lower middle order collapse, ensured England reached only 181/8 in 20 overs. The target was still too much to get but De Villiers was happy that Paterson stepped up.
Former Proteas wicket-keeper/batsman Mark Boucher was excited to see him.
“We seem to have found a bloke (Paterson) who can hit the block-hole more often than not. It is exciting; I hope a few others take note,” Boucher said in the SuperSport studio.