The Proteas find themselves in the unusual position of having not played for almost a week, but yet are on the brink of qualification for the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals.
Temba Bavuma’s team have watched from afar as all the drama has unfolded around them, with most notably Afghanistan knocking out England in a thrilling contest in Lahore.
And further in favour of the Proteas is that they will know their exact fate, due to Australia facing Afghanistan on Friday, which could indeed render Saturday’s clash against the already eliminated England in Karachi (11am SA time start) a dead rubber.
From what was a potential do-or-die “quarter-final”, it has morphed into quite a let-down for the neutral observer.
But after all the drama the Proteas have experienced over the years at major tournaments, they won’t mind a jot to have booked a semi-final place without bowling or hitting a ball in anger.
All that’s potentially left to play for – bar a catastrophic collapse that could see the Proteas’ net run-rate plummet – is then the chance to finish on top of the table.
But even that comes with its own complications as India, who are currently second in the group and still need to face fellow unbeaten New Zealand to decide who tops Pool A, are designated to “host” the first semi-final in Dubai.
Proteas Batsman Rassie van Der Dussen hopes India uses their unfair advantage in the Champions Trophy to their favour. #proteas #ChampionsTrophy2025 pic.twitter.com/RLI7MFam35
Proteas batter Rassie van der Dussen certainly feels “it’s a definite advantage” for India to be based in Dubai for all their group matches, semi-final and potential final.
“If you can stay in one hotel, practice in the same facilities, play in the same stadium on the same pitch every time... It is definitely an advantage,” Van der Dussen said on Thursday from Karachi.
“I don’t think you have to be a rocket scientist to know that.”
Van der Dussen, though, doesn’t care where the Proteas ultimately play their semi-final as he feels the squad is equipped for any conditions they encounter.
“If it’s a personal thing, I would say playing in Lahore, because it’s just good to bat there,” he said. “The Dubai pitch is not as high-scoring as Lahore, but no, I don’t think it really matters.
“I think probably logistically, it will be easier to play in Lahore. You don’t have to go through an international flight and go to Dubai and literally go to another country to play. Lahore is not too far from where we are at the moment, so conditions are fairly similar.
“But yeah, look, I think it’s literally one of those things we don’t know what’s going to happen until Saturday evening, and we’ve just got to prepare for both.
“I think as a team, I think team-wise, conditions-wise, I think we got everything in the locker to adapt to what’s going to be in front of us. So, I’m not too worried as a team. There’s no location that will suit us better or worse.”
Traveling back to Karachi to prepare for what should be a fiery contest against England 💪🏏🔥🇿🇦.#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #ChampionsTrophy pic.twitter.com/tIwlRMKuDS
Equally, Van der Dussen claims the Proteas will not take their foot off the pedal against England regardless of what’s at stake as getting one over the Auld Enemy is always something to look forward to.
“I don’t think we’ll approach it any different, to be honest. I think the nature of the Champions Trophy is that it is quite cut-throat. You have to be on it every match. There’s no room to actually come back if you have a bad start, like the case is with England,” he said.
“So, I think we were always coming into this match saying that it will possibly be a sort of quarter-final type of situation. Whoever wins that will go through. I think a little bit changes for them. They can’t go through, but it’s still a match against England.
“Yes, they haven’t had a great few weeks here, but if you look at the names and their line-up, we obviously respect what they bring to the ground. So, nothing actually changes for us, really.
“We don’t need any extra motivation to play England. They’re a dangerous team. They have nothing to lose.”