SA look to bounce back
MUST-WIN: GOOD PERFORMANCE VITAL TO LEVEL THE THREE-MATCH SERIES
In the last game we played at 50% and still could have won – Faf.
The Proteas will be looking to correct the “mistakes” from the previous match in the second one-day international against England at the Rose Bowl on the south coast today.
The Proteas face a must-win situation following the 72-run loss on Wednesday, which Faf du Plessis has described as disappointing and below par for a team with high standards and expectations.
Du Plessis says the opening match was an opportunity to dust off any early-season cobwebs, and expects an improved performance in the bid to keep the series alive.
“We made quite a lot of mistakes in the first match,” Du Plessis admitted yesterday.
“The positive to take from that is that we played at fifty percent and we still got ourselves into a position where we could have won the game. Myself and Hashim (Amla) had a nice partnership and the pleasing thing is that there is room for improvement.
“We are a team with high standards and we are definitely looking to be a lot more solid in the second match.
“Tactically we made a few mistakes,” he added. “We gave a few soft runs to England’s batsmen and when we had them under pressure they just got away from us. With the bat, we had a good start, normally from there, with a long batting line-up, we are a team that drives for longer, we didn’t do that.
“There are both sides to look at,” he said of the benefits of the series. “If you are playing well and winning, there is the momentum you take into the tournament. If you are not playing the best cricket you would like to play, there is room for peaking at the right time. At the moment, we haven’t played our best cricket yet and we are looking to gear that up.”
The Proteas have a good record at the Southampton ground, which houses the record for the highest South African ODI score against England; 150 off 124 balls scored by Hashim Amla in 2012.
South Africa is unbeaten at the venue with two wins from two matches – a seven-wicket win against Zimbabwe in the tri-series in 2003 and an 80-run win against the hosts in 2012.
Meanwhile, England’s Ben Stokes has been passed fit to play in today’s ODI, a team spokesman said yesterday.
The all-rounder had scans on his left knee after briefly leaving the field during England’s win at Headingley on Wednesday.
Although the scans were inconclusive, Stokes still took a limited part in England’s practice session yesterday and was declared “fit to play and is available to bowl in the match”. – Own Correspondent