Proteas look for balance

Having feasted on Zimbabwe in a 3-0 ODI series win, South Africa will now look to add some gravy to their meal as they take on their neighbours in a three-match T20 series that starts at Buffalo Park in East London today.

For the Proteas, their focus will still be on honing their whiteball skills and growing the same mindset they use in 50-over cricket and want to take to next year’s World Cup.

“The camp is in a really good state, we’re all very positive and training hard. Our preparation doesn’t change and the culture stays the same too even though T20 is a different ball-game. Your skills are put under more pressure and you’ve got to execute really well. We can’t drop our standards, they’ve been set and we have to try and live up to them.

“So there’s self-pressure, you’ve got to put in a performance and we’re still building for 50over cricket, just those small skills like hitting the ball into the gaps and the variety of shots you use. It’s about consistency and sticking to the brand we want to play, which is really positive. We just need to execute on the day and show that in the pressure situations, we want to be there,” all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo (below) said yesterday.

Several more new faces will hop on to the Proteas train for the T20 series – hard-hitting Warriors batsman Gihahn Cloete, prolific Highveld Lions batsman Rassie van der Dussen, and fast bowlers Junior Dala, Dane Paterson and Robbie Frylinck, who have already had a taste of international action.

“There are a lot of new guys, but the balance of experience is good to have too. The depth in South Africa is really good and it’s good to see the newbies come in before the World Cup, they’ll obviously want to put their hands up. Gihahn is a really exciting batsman and Rassie has done really well overseas, while Junior and Robbie have a few caps already.” Phehlukwayo added.