Rassie's love affair with ODI cricket, he just can't quite say why: 'Just worked out'

In Bloemfontein

Rassie van der Dussen can't quite pinpoint why, but it's very clear that he loves 50-over cricket.

The star Proteas right-hander's superb century in Friday night's triumph over England at the Mangaung Oval - the fourth of his career - helps him maintain his bewildering numbers in the format.

Van der Dussen's career average of 71.13 is the best for any South African and second highest in the history of ODIs for players who've scored over 1 000 runs in the format.

More importantly, however, a return to the 50-over stuff has also led to the 33-year-old rekindling the type of form that's been hard to come by since returning from a finger injury on the tour of England last year.

Shubman Gill (India) - 73.76

Rassie van der Dussen (SA) - 71.13

Ryan Ten Doeschate (Netherlands) - 67.00

Babar Azam (Pakistan) - 59.41

Virat Kohli (India) - 57.69

*Minimum 1 000 runs

So pronounced was his struggles for scores - and game-time, for that matter - that it's little wonder his resourceful if somewhat unspectacular 111 off 117 deliveries ranks as one of his favourite international knocks now.

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"Definitely one of my more satisfying experiences. Last year's injury came at a bad time for me in missing the T20 World Cup, especially after having a good one the previous year. From a mental point of view it was tough," said Van der Dussen.

"Going back into red-ball cricket was a bit imperfect. I played a few games for the Lions and then played in the Test against the Aussie at the Gabba, where the pitch was probably the same colour as this green tablecloth. It was pretty tough."

Things hardly improved when Van der Dussen was immediately pressed into action