Looking at the bigger picture

South Africa A coach Shukri Conrad says, should his players even require it, that the disappointing tour of England and the fact that Proteas places are on the line should prod his team in the right direction as their triangular series with their Indian and Afghanistan counterparts gets underway at Groenkloof Stadium in Pretoria today.

While the SA A team were losing to the England Lions, the senior team were busy with another inglorious exit from an ICC tournament, as well as losing a series against England, so the selectors may well be considering changes to the Proteas outfit.

For some players in the SA A squad, this series is a vital opportunity to nudge the selectors, whether it be to ensure they stay in the Proteas picture (Farhaan Behardien and Dwaine Pretorius) or to bring their names into the reckoning (Khaya Zondo, Beuran Hendricks, Dane Paterson).

“Ultimately it is all about the Proteas, which means it can be a difficult space to operate in at SA A level. But we’ve dealt with that and I’m very happy with the team culture we’ve created. There should be no extra motivation needed, but the prospect of playing for your country and our poor form in England, and getting things right, should provide that extra push,” Conrad said.

The fact that bad weather followed the side around England meant it was difficult for them to impose themselves and Conrad added that he wanted his side to throw more punches against India A and Afghanistan A.

“The big thing that we want to do differently is to play front-foot cricket, I want our brand of cricket to be a bit more aggressive. We must not take a backward step, I thought we backed off a bit in England. Conditions will obviously determine how we play, and of course we know the conditions well.”