Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Proteas captain Faf du Plessis is extremely happy over the progress and form of speedster Dale Steyn.
Steyn, who last played an ODI series almost two years ago, returned to action for the Proteas in Bloemfontein and Paarl in their ODI series win against Zimbabwe.
The 34-year-old produced figures of 2/19 in Bloemfontein and 3/29 in Paarl to help the Proteas complete their whitewash series win.
Steyn also made a handy contribution with the bat, scoring 60* off 85 balls in the second ODI and hitting the winning runs in Paarl (4*).
Du Plessis was delighted over Steyn's performance in the series and stated that he has filled the position in the Proteas' fast bowling attack.
"I think what Dale has done, he certainly has put a peg in the ground to say that he still is very much good enough to play one-day cricket for South Africa," Du Plessis told reporters on Saturday in Paarl.
"It's nice for us, the holes are slowly but surely starting to fill up. We need three wicket-taking fast bowlers and we've got that with Dale, Lungi (Ngidi) and KG (Kagiso Rabada). They are very different ... Dale is still bowling quick, but his skill factor is right up there."
READ: Rabada, Tahir move up in ICC ODI rankings
The Proteas skipper also explained why leg-spinner Imran Tahir opened the bowling alongside Steyn at Boland Park.
"I'm very happy to see the way Imran opened the innings, it just opened a bit of dimension to us as a bowling attack. I'm very happy ... he did it well for someone who hasn't done that in the past," said Du Plessis.
"It's just about adding some fire power. A lot of guys these days are used to facing pace as the opening pair. You get one or two guys in the circuit that aren't as good against spin straight up with the new ball so from the brain's trust it's us thinking we need to expose that."
The Proteas now turn their attention to the three T20Is, starting on Tuesday in East London (18:00).
Proteas T20 squad:
Faf du Plessis (Titans, captain), Gihahn Cloete (Warriors), Junior Dala (Titans), Quinton de Kock (Titans), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), Robbie Frylinck (Dolphins), Imran Tahir (Dolphins), Christiaan Jonker (Warriors), Heinrich Klaasen (Titans), David Miller (Dolphins), Lungisani Ngidi (Titans), Dane Paterson (Cape Cobras), Andile Phehlukwayo (Dolphins), Tabraiz Shamsi (Titans), Rassie van der Dussen (Highveld Lions)
