Bring on the bounce
AT LONG LAST: DE VILLIERS BACK TO TAKE ON SRI LANKA IN SERIES DECIDER
Hendricks could make his first T20 appearance in two years at the expense of Smuts.
With AB de Villiers back in harness, Proteas T20 captain Farhaan Behardien says his team is going into today’s third and decisive T20 international against Sri Lanka at Newlands with their confidence still high.
The South African batsmen struggled with the unusual conditions at the Wanderers in last weekend’s second game, leaving the series tied at 1-1, but in Cape Town they are expecting to feel much more at home and having De Villiers, one of the world’s great T20 batsmen, is obviously a major boost.
“We had a chat about the batting and we’ve been working hard on our decision-making. We were put under pressure by the Sri Lankan spinners on a dry surface, but hopefully Newlands will have more pace and bounce. We’ve prepared really well, we had a good net session and the guys are hitting the ball sweetly.
“It’s fantastic to have AB back, he’s one of the best in the world and it boosts morale, and he’s someone the youngsters can learn off, he’s such an awesome talent and so experienced at this level. Decision-making at the crease is vital and having AB around is definitely to our advantage. It’s fantastic for a very inexperienced side,” Behardien said yesterday.
The return of De Villiers means one batsman has to make way and it will probably be Theunis de Bruyn at three.
The last time Reeza Hendricks played a T20 international, against the West Indies in Durban in January 2015, he scored 42 off 32 balls and he clearly deserves a run at the top of the order, probably replacing Jon-Jon Smuts.
Fast bowler Dane Paterson is the other player who has not yet appeared in the series, and the Cape Town lad should come in for Wayne Parnell, who has been steady without setting the world alight.
Sri Lanka will also go into the decider with new personnel, with captain Angelo Mathews having injured himself in getting his team over the line at the Wanderers, putting himself out of the tour with five ODIs still to come after the end of the T20 series. Wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal will take over the captaincy.