Rossouw kicked about new format of cricket
sharjah — The evolution of cricket that is the T10 has received an overwhelming thumbsup from Rilee Rossouw.
Rossouw, who cut short his international career with South Africa to sign a Kolpak deal with Hampshire, has followed in the footsteps of England’s Kevin Pietersen and West Indian Darren Sammy, to name a few, by plying his trade in different T20 leagues around the world.
And the 28-year-old has been left gushing about the newest version of cricket. Picked by the Maratha Arabians, Rossouw came to the fore by smoking an unbeaten 49 from just 18 balls, studded with half a dozen sixes, to nick a last-ball thriller against Team Sri Lanka. Rossouw had missed out on a chance earlier when he got out cheaply for five against the Pakhtoons, becoming the first of captain Shahid Afridi’s three victims. But there was no stopping Rossouw next time around.
And Rossouw couldn’t believe that a total of 125 could be chased down in the format. “I’ll tell you what, this is the way forward. I love this type of format of cricket. And it is unbelievable to chase down 125 in a T10. Who would have thought of it 20 years ago. I’m very happy, so excited and I can’t wait to watch what the future lies for T10 format,” he said.
Rossouw said that in such a format, there was no time to think nor pace one’s innings according to the situation.
“I tried to go from ball two so no real pacing. See ball, hit ball,” he said. He also said that the fall of wickets shouldn’t upset the batsmen. “I think in this format, you can let that upset you. You got to carry on with the momentum. If it is in your arc, you have got to go for it. You can’t sit back a over to assess things. You’ve got to keep on going. Two or three overs in this format changes the game,” felt Rossouw.
The left-hander from Bloemfontein said that there was no time to brood about a loss. “It is such a short format that if you lose, you’ve got to get back on the horse and ride it,” Rossouw said.
Rossouw said that the T10 format will benefit cricketers in their T20 career, like it did for them when the T20 version helped their 50-over career.