Rickelton ‘chuffed’ with maiden ODI ton to get Proteas up and running in Karachi

Centurion Ryan Rickelton has admitted he was “quite nervous” ahead of his ICC Champions Trophy debut against Afghanistan in Karachi on Friday.

Rickelton, 28, had travelled with the Proteas to the ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean last year, but did not taste any gametime with an out-of-form Reeza Hendricks preferred.

But with Heinrich Klaasen ruled out of the clash against the Afghans due to an elbow injury, Rickelton was therefore handed the gloves for the crunch tournament opener.

More importantly, though, he was also granted the opportunity to open the batting with Tony de Zorzi with skipper Temba Bavuma dropping down to No 3.

And as they say in the classics that “one man’s loss is another’s gain”, Rickelton made the most of his chance with 103 off just 106 balls, which coincidentally was also his maiden ODI century, to set up the Proteas’ comprehensive 107-run victory.

“Bit of a different one, I was quite nervous coming in. My first proper ICC event. To contribute to the team and set us up for a win is something I'm very chuffed with,” Rickelton said.

Rickelton took first strike after Bavuma had won the toss and elected to bat on a surface that was filled with cracks.

Bavuma felt his decision was vindicated by the performance of the entire batting unit with the skipper, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram also striking half-centuries in addition to Rickelton’s ton to push the Proteas’ up to 315/6.

“Clinical performance. We took the brave decision to bat first not knowing about the wicket. We were then clinical with the ball too, closest to one of our best performances,” Bavuma said.

“The wicket looked a lot different to what we are used to in Pakistan. The batters fronted up and we managed to get a good score.

“There were a lot of cracks and we expected some variable bounce, it was a bit tricky at times. The guys at the back end pride themselves on having a strong finish.”

Rickelton echoed his captain’s comments that the batters weren’t sure what to expect from the surface.

“We thought the surface would be a bit tacky, but it played alright. The bounce was a bit inconsistent but we worked our way through it. I thought we played nicely with the batting we had in the tank to get a competitive total on the board,” he added.

Rickelton was disappointed to be run out just after he reached the three-figure mark, but was glad that Markram was able to provide the innings with impetus at the death.

“Disappointed to get out, especially in that manner. Was looking to pull the trigger after that, but the guys who came in after did that and we managed to pick up a few extra boundaries,” he said.

“Thought we could have pushed a bit harder, but Aiden played a great knock at the back there to get a competitive total.”

The Proteas’ next match is against world champions Australia on Tuesday.