Proteas Erwee

Sarel Erwee celebrates reaching his century. Photo: AFP

PROTEAS PLAYER RATINGS: Erwee and Jansen impress

Following the Proteas’ comeback victory against New Zealand, we dish out player ratings to impressive Sarel Erwee and Marco Jansen.

Proteas Erwee

Sarel Erwee celebrates reaching his century. Photo: AFP

The Proteas impressively completed a clinical 198-run victory over New Zealand on Tuesday to draw the two-Test series. Considering how the South Africa were embarrassingly thrashed by an innings and 276 runs in the first Test, the emphatic victory on Tuesday represents one of their most impressive comeback wins of all time.

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In the second part of a new series, we take a closer look at how key Proteas players performed and hand out some ratings.

Newcomer Sarel Erwee (8)

Who doesn’t love an inspirational and unexpected sporting success story?

Erwee’s arrival on the international stage certainly turned out to be one of the most remarkable stories to come out of the series against New Zealand.

The 32-year-old had once considered giving up the game, while he has previously admitted to struggling with his mental health, but the elegant left-handed batsman finally received a long-awaited call-up to the Proteas after a period of consistent form.

Although the first Test didn’t go according to plan as he struggled to make an impact in bowler-friendly conditions, his moment of heroics would arrive in the second encounter.

After a brave decision to bat first, Erwee produced an innings of immense class and composure to score a maiden century that laid the foundation for the Proteas’ match-defining total of 364.

He only scored eight in the second innings, but the Proteas look to have finally found the opener they have been crying out for.

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Proteas rising star Jansen (7)

The 21-year-old has undoubtedly been the find of the summer, and he has very quickly established himself as a settled member of the Proteas team in double-quick time.

In the opening Test against New Zealand he only claimed two wickets, but he made a considerable impact in the follow-up clash.

With the bat, he scored an important 37 not out in the first innings, while it only took a sensational catch to dismiss him early on in the next knock as he continues to show real signs of developing into a reliable all-rounder.

On the bowling front, he claimed four wickets in the first innings, and followed that up with three more crucial scalps as the Proteas powered to victory.

All indications point towards the fact that he is going to be a key member of the South African team for quite some time.