Ryan McLaren would not stick out in a line-up of SA's more conspicuous cricketers, particularly not when Hashim Amla scores a century and Imran Tahir counts Mahela Jayawardene among his three victims.
But yesterday, McLaren clinched SA's 75-run win over Sri Lanka in the first one-day international in Colombo.
He clipped 22 not out in an unbroken stand of 53 with David Miller that took SA to their highest ODI total in Sri Lanka, 304/5.
McLaren also held on to the steepler that completed the home side's dismissal for 229 in 40.3 overs.
Neither of those contributions, useful though they were, won the game. What did was McLaren finding the character to recover from being swatted for three consecutive boundaries by Kumar Sangakkara to, in three balls of his next over, end the biggest stand of the innings and then remove Sangakkara.
"That was huge," captain AB De Villiers said. "Sri Lanka were very quickly winning the game."
With Sangakkara and his threatening 88 went Sri Lanka's hopes.
"It's always a concern when 'Sanga' walks to the crease and he almost took it way from us today," De Villiers said.
The victory was only SA's third in 17 ODIs against Sri Lanka on the island, and it puts them in pole position to win a series there in this format for the first time.
McLaren the hero for Proteas
Ryan McLaren would not stick out in a line-up of SA's more conspicuous cricketers, particularly not when Hashim Amla scores a century and Imran Tahir counts Mahela Jayawardene among his three victims.
But yesterday, McLaren clinched SA's 75-run win over Sri Lanka in the first one-day international in Colombo.
He clipped 22 not out in an unbroken stand of 53 with David Miller that took SA to their highest ODI total in Sri Lanka, 304/5.
McLaren also held on to the steepler that completed the home side's dismissal for 229 in 40.3 overs.
Neither of those contributions, useful though they were, won the game. What did was McLaren finding the character to recover from being swatted for three consecutive boundaries by Kumar Sangakkara to, in three balls of his next over, end the biggest stand of the innings and then remove Sangakkara.
"That was huge," captain AB De Villiers said. "Sri Lanka were very quickly winning the game."
With Sangakkara and his threatening 88 went Sri Lanka's hopes.
"It's always a concern when 'Sanga' walks to the crease and he almost took it way from us today," De Villiers said.
The victory was only SA's third in 17 ODIs against Sri Lanka on the island, and it puts them in pole position to win a series there in this format for the first time.
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