McKenzie impresses Kirsten
SOURCE: Sportal - 13/5/2001(Thanks Sabina)

Peter Kirsten says Neil McKenzie’s gritty half-century in South Africa’s 53-run win over West Indies in the sixth one-day international on Saturday underlines his value to the national side.

McKenzie, making his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury during the first game of the seven-match series, scored 73 at the Queens Park Oval after coming in No 3.

McKenzie’s innings - the only 50 of the match - helped South Africa score what proved to be a match-winning 190 and also earned him the man of the match award. South Africa’s victory means they lead the limited-overs series 5-1, with the final game scheduled for Wednesday.

Legendary former South African No 3 Kirsten believes McKenzie is set for a period of sustained success in the national team. “I think Neil’s been an absolute revelation for South Africa,” said Kirsten, who coached McKenzie at Northerns a couple of seasons ago.

“He can bat anywhere from No 3 to 5 and has really come on in leaps and bounds since a difficult debut in Sri Lanka. It wasn’t easy for him yesterday (Saturday) by any means. He missed a few games and had to come back on a wicket that wasn’t easy to score runs on.

“But he accepted the responsibility and just stepped in and took charge. The responsible way he approaches the game is why I think he will eventually become vice-captain of South Africa and perhaps even captain in due course.”

Easterns fast bowler Andre Nel earned his first cap on Saturday and was a stunning success with the new ball. He took 3/20 off 8.5 overs before a reported bout of cramps forced him to leave the field.

Nel was on a hat-trick at one stage, having dismissed Windies captain Carl Hooper and Ricardo Powell off successive deliveries. Ridley Jacobs survived the hat-trick attempt, but Nel was still overjoyed with his performance.

Kirsten acknowledges Nel’s excellent efforts, but cautions against reading too much into it. “Nel did superbly, especially as he must have felt under tremendous pressure.

“It was his first game and there’s a lot of competition for bowling places in the South Africa team,” said Kirsten. “But you cannot really judge a player on one game, especially with the Windies’ batting being so pathetic.”