Who will open with AB in T20 series?
DURBAN: The Proteas have three gems at the top of their T20 batting order, but only two of them will get to play, and one of those will be AB de Villiers.
Captain Faf du Plessis made this pretty clear at yesterday on the eve of the first T20 international of the series against Australia at Kingsmead today (start 6pm).
Du Plessis said that plans formulated two years ago included De Villiers as a certainty to open the innings, with Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock competing to accompany him to the crease.
Asked if there was any wriggle room in this regard, considering the quality of Amla and De Kock, Du Plessis replied: “We planned for this two years ago, so changing those plans a week before the World Cup (World T20) is not for me. I’m not that kind of guy. So that’s not really an option.”
He added that South Africa would look to field their strongest team today to put the Australians under pressure, so the chosen XI should be the same as the starting lineup in their first World T20 match against England in Mumbai on March 18.
Amla may have the inside track at present, as he did his cause no harm by scoring 22 in 21 balls and 69 not out in 38 balls in the two recent T20 wins against England. Furthermore, Proteas coach Russell Domingo let slip this week that Amla was a particularly good player of spin, an ability much prized in India. “Amla is still well in the picture,” Domingo said.
It just seems a pity – if this is to happen – to lose a weapon of the quality of De Kock. Du Plessis seemed to acknowledge this when asked about team selection. “We’ve got some great options and some great headaches,” he said.
Like his Australian counterpart Steve Smith, Du Plessis said the focus was on winning the series rather than looking ahead to India. The Proteas skipper ignored the current rankings – with Australia seventh in the world – saying that “Australia will always be a strong team, no matter where they are in the rankings”.
He added: “They’ve got some great match-winners in their squad and we know we’ll have to play at our best to beat them.”
Du Plessis was in a bullish mood about his own team’s prospects, however. “We’ve been playing some great cricket and we know that if we play to our potential, there’s a high possibility of us winning AB de Villiers v David Warner this series,” he said. “The energy in the camp is very good; I’m very happy to see where everyone’s at so we’re in a good space and it looks to me as if all the boxes have been ticked.
“I feel there are no areas of weakness and that every gap has been plugged and that’s good to know.”
Du Plessis said that one of the most important qualities required to win the World T20 was the ability of a team to adjust quickly to changing conditions. Judging by the dry Kingsmead pitch, it looks as though it may be slow and low, or at least not as bouncy as usual.
“It’s really important for us to make smart decisions on the field. Generally the team that do that best in India perform the best. You saw that against England. We played two different games against them. We’re not a one-dimensional team and that’s our strength,” Du Plessis said.
Meanwhile, Smith paid tribute to the Proteas, saying they were “tough rivals”, but added that his team were much better than their world ranking.
“We’ve got a good side to win T20 matches and series. There’s a good mix of explosive batters, a lot of wicket-takers as well as good fielders which is very important in T20 cricket. Hopefully we can start to climb the ladder pretty quickly,” he said.
Australia are currently ranked one in the world in Test and ODI cricket, and Smith said that it was one of the team’s ambitions to be No 1 in all formats of the game.
The South African women’s team will play the West Indies as part of a doubleheader. The match starts at 12.45pm. TEAMS: Proteas: Faf du Plessis (captain), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, David Wiese Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill, Andrew Tye, Shane Watson, Adam Zampa Umpires: Shaun George and Adrian Holdstock Match referee: Richie Richardson