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Johannesburg - Proteas batsman, JP Duminy, said he was enjoying the faith shown in him, batting at No 4, after his gutsy 46 off 74 balls in the first one-day international (ODI) against New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday.
Coach Gary Kirsten has been known to shift the order around to suit the situation on the day, and Duminy savoured every opportunity he was given higher up in the line-up.
"I'm enjoying the position," remarked Duminy.
"I obviously prefer to bat at No 4 although I have been batting at No 5 for most of my international career.
"I'm grateful for the opportunity and if it comes my way more in the future, hopefully I will grab it with both arms."
Duminy and AB de Villiers rebuilt the Proteas' chase with a 90-run fourth-wicket partnership, after the Black Caps' opening bowlers had South Africa struggling at 35 for 3.
It took a combined effort from the pair to get the innings back on track, and the stand paved the way for De Villiers and Faf du Plessis to close down the game for the Proteas.
"They applied quite a bit of pressure on us," said Duminy.
"I think 35/3 is about as big as the pressure can get in that sort of circumstance.
"I thought we handled it quite well and hopefully, if we find ourselves in that same situation again, we can deal with it in the same way.
"I struggled quite a bit, but the great thing was we communicated quite well and if it wasn't for AB (de Villiers) I probably would have thrown it away, I'm grateful to him."
The Proteas have a chance to seal the series in Wednesday's second ODI at the quaint McLean Park in Napier, and will be riding on the confidence from Saturday's win.
"We are pretty comfortable with the way that things are going," added Duminy.
"We obviously have a bit of momentum and hopefully we can carry on and knock the series off in the next game."
The match gets underway at 08:00 South African time.
