South Africa head into their third game at the World Cup when they face Sri Lanka on Saturday in Sharjah.

The team appears to be in a good place following all the off-field drama on Tuesday and the good news is that the influential Quinton de Kock is set to play.

Rassie van der Dussen, who scored an unbeaten 43 against the Windies said they are confident facing the spin of Sri Lanka.

“Credit must also go to the batters. If you look at the stats and the way we've approached spin and playing on wickets like these, we've improved a lot in the last 12 to 18 months.

“We are confident - we know now that we have the skill and we have been doing that over the last 12 months and we've won matches like that.

“So, we will definitely be confident going into the game.”

Van der Dussen added that while the whole Quinton de Kock saga is still fresh in the minds of everyone, the former captain still has the backing and support of his teammates.

“Quinny is extremely remorseful - but I can say that in a positive way. A characteristic of our team is that even though he took that decision, everyone understood why he took that decision.

“We always supported him, even though the time on the day and everything might not have been great.

“It was a bit chaotic in the build-up to that match, but we all understood and we all supported him.”

Saturday’s game in Sharjah gets underway at noon.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport