Mix and match vital for Proteas
FAF: WE HAVE TO SEE WHAT OUR BEST COMBINATIONS ARE
Faf du Plessis believes that the next year of oneday cricket is all about the youngsters so, even though the regular Proteas captain is nearly 8 000km away in Cape Town, South Africa will surely give another opportunity to fringe players in the fifth and final ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo tomorrow.
Without Du Plessis, who tore a shoulder tendon in the third ODI, Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi, the Proteas lost the fourth ODI by three runs but the official skipper suggested upon his arrival in South Africa yesterday that experimentation would continue in the last game of the series, which the visitors have already won. In fact, another frontline star in Hashim Amla could be rested to give Aiden Markram another chance at the top of the order.
“It’s been an exciting brand of cricket with young faces playing fearless cricket and we’re starting to answer quite a few questions. There are still one or two things to sort out in the next year, so it’s a great opportunity for the young guys. The experienced players don’t need more experience, so it’s about the young guys now.
“Even if it means resting key or senior guys, we have to give the youngsters more experience and maybe even play the odd guy on the outside. It’s about seeing what our best combinations are and there’s enough time for the unanswered questions to be sorted out. Aiden is in a good space for a young man who’s going through a tough time and hopefully we can still get him in for the last game,” Du Plessis said.
Even though conditions in Sri Lanka are not that similar to those South Africa will be exposed to at the World Cup in England in 10 months’ time, Du Plessis said that the way the Proteas went about their cricket in the first three ODIs is the way they want to play at the global showpiece.
“I’m really excited with the style of one-day cricket we’re playing at the moment, there’s a lot of emphasis on how we play and how we win the World Cup. To win three out of three and then be able to change the team to get the young faces in was great,” Du Plessis said.