Rassie van der Dussen sets South Africa's tempo with another thankless century

It didn't always look easy with Rassie van der Dussen. If he was not lunging forward, his 1.88 metre frame making it look ungainly to defend, he was pushing awkwardly, trying to come to terms with the line. It didn't always look elegant - and it seldom does with van der Dussen - but it was definitely effective.

Van der Dussen scored South Africa's eighth century of the tournament, and 16th in ODIs this year, through a combination of patience and placement which perfectly demonstrated how he has moulded himself to his anchor role. He came in with nine balls remaining in the powerplay, after a brief but energetic knock from Temba Bavuma, and scored 21 off his first 33 balls. At the time, the talk was that South Africa were taking too long. That quietened when Quinton de Kock reached his fourth hundred of this World Cup. Van der Dussen then accumulated 112 off his next 85 balls to take South Africa within reach of 350, and went entirely silent after their 190-run win, but we'll get to that.

First, to van der Dussen, the number of runs he scored, the way he scored them and who he scored them off. After a watchful start, he ran 56 singles, four twos and the only three of the innings. He scored at a run a ball against Mitchell Santner (27 from 27), and took 33 runs off 22 balls from Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra. None of that was an accident. Every time South Africa have been put in to bat - five times in total - they've followed a similar template: caution upfront, rotation through the middle and a strong finish.

In part, that's a nod to the quality of the opposition attacks, and especially the quick bowling at this tournament, but it's also a way of ensuring a line-up that only includes six specialist batters can save their power-hitters for when they can actually make an impact. Afterwards, that's what van der Dussen confirmed.

"We felt they bowled pretty well upfront," van der Dussen said at the post-match press conference. "Tim Southee and Trent Boult are very experienced and they didn't give us much and then with their finger spinners, Santner is a guy who has some of the best control in the world. The other two (Phillips and Ravindra), we knew we could put under pressure but also that they have been bowling well in the tournament so far. We had to fight through that period. But we know we don't always have to be in fifth gear. We can play in third gear and then at the end up it a little bit."

"That period" lasted as long as 35 overs, as South Africa's run-rate hovered between 4.5 runs to 5.5 runs an over. Instead of chasing sixes and sevens an over, they saw it as a way of "finding the balance between being attacking and scoring runs and also setting the base up," van der Dussen said. Hindsight tells us that it was more than enough but South Africa, and van der Dussen, would not have known that at the time. Instead it was de Kock who acted as the pace-setter. "He really guided me through my innings today. I was under pressure and asking him about a few options," van der Dussen said.

At one stage, he asked de Kock whether he should start to score quicker. De Kock's advice was to wait for as long as possible. "I said, if you want me to make a play, tell me," van der Dussen said, "but he said, 'no, no, just extend it and just look at your options for the spin, keep playing straight, keep being really relentless if it's in your area but if it's not, respect it, because we know how these guys bowl and they're very disciplined with the ball'."

Intermittently, van der Dussen was allowed to play his shots, especially the flick and the sweep, that he practices so often in the nets, and has brought out several times at this tournament. His best run-scoring options were, as de Kock suggested, down the ground and that is where he scored four of his five sixes, and 37 runs off 17 balls. In the end, his century came at a strike rate of 112.71, which is a decent pace for scoring big runs and a retort to an oft-mounted critique against his methods.

There is a school of thought that van der Dussen scores too slowly and there is some statistical evidence to support that. Of the South African batters who have scored at least 500 ODI runs this year (and there are six of them), van der Dussen has the lowest strike-rate. But that also proves something far more important about the role he plays: he is the fulcrum around which the rest operate and he owns that.

On the eve of the match van der Dussen was asked about doing the "dirty work" for South Africa and he explained how it's meant he doesn't have the flashy reputation of some of his team-mates, let alone their pay cheques.

"Me, Quinny and Temba often joke about it, saying the reason (Heinrich) Klaasen and the other guys get millions at IPL is because they can come in and hit sixes at the back. But it's a role that needs to be done, and from my side and other guys as well, we're really happy to be doing it. In our team, there's a sense of ... what's the word I'm looking for?"

The word was probably "selflessness", given what he said next. "It's amazing to see what you can achieve when it doesn't matter who gets the credit, or when you don't care who gets the credit, for getting the win or getting over the line or putting in a good performance. There's a real sense of that in our team. And if that's going to help us win matches and win the World Cup, then I'll be happy not to be thanked for that."

But he won't mind a little recognition for an ODI batting average that sits close to 54, a record that makes him the third highest run-scorer in ODI cricket for South Africa in the current squad, the second-fastest South African to 2,000 ODI runs after Hashim Amla, and sixth overall. He also won't mind the acknowledgement that he has scored a quarter of South Africa's tournament hundreds so far, even though there is a player who has done double that.

Next to de Kock's fourth tournament hundred and amid the narrative of his impending ODI retirement, van der Dussen may not get the plaudits he deserves, but he should. Like de Kock, van der Dussen could also be playing in his last World Cup (he is 34 years old), although he hasn't said as much. And much like de Kock, who told the broadcaster in the innings break that "as my career is coming to a finish, I just bat as much as I can," van der Dussen seems to want to do the same.