Bavuma calls for all hands on deck as Proteas leave for T20 World Cup
The Proteas left for the United Arab Emirates on Sunday and the T20 World Cup, with captain Temba Bavuma saying it will be all hands on deck as they are relying on a team effort and not individual success to do well.
With the likes of Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir and Chris Morris not being selected, never mind AB de Villiers, the Proteas are lacking some of the global superstars of other teams, apart from Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi.
But their form in recent times has been impressive, especially their series wins in the West Indies and Sri Lanka, in conditions that are expected to be similar to what they will find in the UAE. And they have prepared well with a camp in Durban, former Proteas star JP Duminy, seconded to the team as a strategic consultant, saying he was very impressed by the attention to detail the squad showed in terms of their skills.
“We pride ourselves on how well prepared we are,” Bavuma said on Sunday. “And we are not relying on individuals to get us over the line, we will be relying on a team effort. If we all take care of our basics and the small things, if we do the right things day-by-day, then we trust the results will look after themselves.
“The team is in a good space and if you saw our performances in the Sri Lanka T20s, then you will know there was nothing inhibiting us.
“We will be trying to do more of the same, our approach will be no different to what has brought us some good success lately and we will take from those experiences.
“It’s all about how we execute our game-plan and do it in pressurised moments. We back ourselves and our chances, we do although a lot of other people don’t,” Bavuma said with his trademark determination.
In terms of the surfaces they will play on, South Africa are expecting run-scoring to be even more difficult than it has been in the IPL on the same pitches.
“It’s hard to see the wickets getting any better because they will have so much traffic on them. As batsmen, we are expecting tough times on those decks,” Bavuma said.
While the top-order batsman said the thumb he fractured in the ODI series in Sri Lanka is still “not 100%”, he has been given the all-clear by the medical staff.
“I started batting a bit this weekend, just to feel it out. Everything is still on schedule and the medical staff are all quite happy with my progress,” the skipper said.
South Africa will quarantine for six days and their first match is on October 23 against Australia in Abu Dhabi.