The Proteas had to anbondon their first World Cup T20 match against Zimbabwe due to rain. Picture: Linda Higginson, EPA
Cape Town – Proteas coach Mark Boucher is hoping the rain stays away in Sydney for his team “to showcase their skills” in their next match against Bangladesh at the SCG on Thursday.
Consistent showers in Hobart on Monday scuppered the Proteas’ chances of getting their ICC T20 World Cup campaign off to a positive note, despite restricting Zimbabwe to 79/4 in nine overs and responding with 51/0 after just three overs.
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South Africa were ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis required total, but a T20I requires 10 overs to be bowled to constitute a match. The teams therefore shared the points, leaving the Proteas in a virtual “must-win” scenario for the remainder of the tournament.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, held on for a nine-run victory over Netherlands to top Group 2 after the first round of matches.
The forecast has predicted 60% rain for Thursday in Sydney once again, which could mean another reduced match or even worse of all another abandoned match.
“We watched a bit of the Bangladesh game, they got good starts and then they stumbled in the middle. Their bowling was good as well. World Cups are cut-throat and hopefully the rain stays away and we can get some good cricket in and showcase our skills,” Boucher said.
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“T20 cricket, on the day, you can have one or two guys come off, and that can be a win for you. We believe we have some good quality batters, and some good quality bowlers to give ourselves a few different chances of coming off. I am sure Bangladesh feel the same way as well.”
The South Africa camp are trying to put a frustrating night in Hobart behind them as they fly north for the remainder of the #T20WorldCup https://t.co/DNGPG703hN
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 25, 2022
The unique element of a T20 World Cup in Australia in the contrasting conditions and ground sizes at the various venues. The Bellerive Oval in Hobart is a lot smaller than the SCG and has provided greater assistance to the seam bowlers.
The Proteas opted for a four-seamer bowling attack and omitted left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi from their line-up in Tasmania, but are willing to re-look at their line-up ahead of the Bangladesh contest.
“We have some good options going forward. I think that’s the strength of our unit at the moment. We have some good options. We decided to go with the extra seamer which is quite harsh on Shammo, but I think it was the right decision with the rain around and Lungi picking up two wickets in the first two overs. The way Anna bowled, KG bowled, and Wayne Parnell, they all warranted their selection,” Boucher said.
“We have a good idea of what the venue is going to be like, a lot of our guys have played in Sydney before, so we sort of know what types of conditions we are going to get there. We know the boundary sizes as well. We have prepared for that accordingly.”
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