Speaking to Sky Sports after Saturday’s match, Klaasen revealed that, along with head coach Rob Walter, he had set himself a lofty ambition to prove himself as the world’s best player over the course of the Champions Trophy. “I gave myself a challenge with Rob Walter this trip: I want to be the best in the world,” Klaasen said.
“But I want to be the best in the world, and I know I can play situations well and for me, just to keep hitting it on the ground for as long as possible, like I did tonight [is important]. I’m quite pleased with my innings tonight. [I scored runs] by standing still and just trusting my technique. I know my swing is good, so as long as it clicks then I am quite happy.”
As if to underline the point about hitting along the ground, Klaasen hit 11 fours and no sixes before he was caught at short third, trying to hit the winning runs off Adil Rashid with six runs required. “I want to jump off this building, the way I went out tonight,” he joked, but said he was happy with his recent form, and explained that he has looked to keep things simple in training since his elbow injury.
“I think I’m very blessed at the moment where I’m with my game, and understanding my game quite well,” he said. “I’m not a guy that faces all our seamers in the nets. I just do a couple of drills and face a little bit of spin. At the moment, I’m meeting the ball out of the middle of the bat. That’s my piece that I go with, and as long as my technique is good, I’m quite happy.”
Klaasen, 33, has been in career-best form since turning 30 and said that he has tried to keep things as simple as possible, reacting to each ball rather than premeditating. “It’s about standing there still,” he said. “It was about three years ago that I really worked hard on that, just standing there still, not premeditating the game too much.”
Aiden Markram, who stood in as South Africa’s captain for the unwell Temba Bavuma, said of Klaasen: “It’s always great to see him out in the middle. He’s been in a ridiculous patch of form over the last many months, and for him to walk out after having a little niggle on his elbow and for it to look like he’d never really left is a great sign for us.”