Hendricks: Crucial for SA to adapt to conditions
SOUTH Africa may have the spin weaponry to take advantage of conditions in Sri Lanka, but that doesn’t mean the fast bowlers can park off and put their feet up.
The Proteas may talk about being creative, but leaving the bowling all up to the spinners would be a little too funky.
In Tabraiz Shamsi, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin, captain Temba Bavuma does have the necessary spin arsenal at his disposal. And despite missing Lungi Ngidi, he is not short on fast-bowling options either.
Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje have been in excellent form across formats this year, and there is solid back-up for them from Lutho Sipamla, Lizaad Williams and Beuran Hendricks.
What they all need to do is acclimatise to conditions – the weather and the pitches.
South Africa have won the last two ODI series between the teams in Sri Lanka, in 2014 and 2018.
In 2014, the medium pace of Ryan Mclaren proved to be the most successful with nine wickets in that three-match series; and in 2018, Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo were SA’S leading wicket-takers with 10 and nine wickets respectively as the Proteas emerged victorious in a five-match series.
Hendricks, still sporting the eight stitches above his right eye that were the result of being smashed in the face while dishing throwdowns to Dwaine Pretorius prior to the team’s departure, said the conditions made demands that were both physical and technical.
“You have to train your body according to conditions; it’s monsoon season, so the field will be heavy, so you have to spend a bit more time on your feet at training,” said Hendricks.
“The humidity is quite high over here, so you have to make sure you are hydrated and spend enough time in the gym to keep muscles on point when it comes to fatigue.”