The Proteas’ new way looks good
Scoring more than 100 runs between the 15th and 25th overs of an ODI after losing four wickets was certainly a statement of intent by the Proteas this week. Just please don’t go giving it a name.
“We certainly don’t want to go down the route of calling it ‘Wallyball’,” chirped Proteas’ white-ball coach Rob Walter. No-one wants that. However, their new way was eye-catching. Heinrich Klaasen’s matchwinning 119 not out off 61 balls provided the perfect example of how the Proteas want to play in limited-overs formats and it is something Walter wants to see continue in the three T20 Internationals against the West Indies to be played from Saturday.
“It was about giving the guys the freedom to express themselves, to take on the aggressive options, to try to understand what the game requires and how they can best use the skill set they have,” the coach said
“Part of the blueprint looks like Heinrich playing it the way he did with the team in trouble. It’s not looking to stabilise the game and then look to win it at the end. [It’s] to keep up with our aggressive intent and nature, all the while understanding that the requirements of the game will change, the situation ... is going to change, and for me to keep pushing the batters and bowlers to understand what skill set is required to maximise the most aggressive version of what the game needs at that time.”
Of course, the T20s will entail a switch in rhythm for the players, but Walter said there is still an eye on the two crucial ODIs against the Netherlands at the end of the month. The big names have all been recalled: Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortjé, Rilee Rossouw and Quinton de Kock, who missed the last ODI, are all in the squad.
“It’s about getting those guys ready in a way. They’ve all had time off, we are purely looking at getting the guys back in rhythm for the Netherlands series. We want them to get that competitive edge back and to get in the middle, where their skills will be put under pressure. It’s about getting back into a competitive environment.”
Those Netherlands matches — in conjunction with the outcome of the ODI series in New Zealand, where Sri Lanka have to lose at least one match — will determine whether SA qualify automatically for the 2023 World Cup. If results don’t go their way in the next few weeks they face the prospect of a prequalifying tournament in Zimbabwe in June/July, something ODI captain Temba Bavuma said he is willing to accept, but deep down he would rather avoid.
The T20s offers an opportunity for Aiden Markram’s leadership to be put under scrutiny. He was made captain of the T20 side and there is a chance he will be made ODI captain after the 2023 tournament.
“Part of appointing Aiden is that we are looking forward and understanding where he is in his cricket cycle and how many years he will hopefully be dedicating to the Proteas,” said Walter. He was impressed with the way Markram led the side in the last ODI against the West Indies, which Bavuma missed with a hamstring injury.