Heading into the T20 World Cup in Australia, how much scarring will the Proteas take to the tournament after the difficulties they faced in India?
Johannesburg — What then of South Africa’s chances in the T20 World Cup?
Five weeks ago when the squad for the tournament was announced there was reason for optimism. It was a balanced group with plenty of options, experience and variety.
The big question mark was about Temba Bavuma, and that remains, but on the whole, there were more reasons to feel good about the Proteas chances Down Under, than was the case a year ago when the tournament was hosted in Dubai.
However, how much scarring will there be following the One-Day series defeat to an Indian side devoid of many of its star players? That was a young team led by Shikhar Dhawan and they hammered the Proteas in the last two matches to clinch that series, and pushed the South Africans into even further difficulties as far as World Cup qualification is concerned.
ALSO READ: Boucher still hopes Bavuma can regain form ahead of T20 World Cup
Mark Boucher offered a measured response to a question about the mood in the camp, saying it was “Okay,” and that while there was plenty to play for in the series as far as qualification for the 2023 50-over World Cup was concerned, the players were “really gearing” up for the T20 tournament.
South Africa’s form in T20 cricket has been reasonably good. Including the 2021 World Cup, they have won 11 of 18 matches in the last 12 months, although of their six defeats in that period, five have come this year.
The Proteas will argue that four of those losses were in India, where conditions aren’t as favourable to them as will be the case in Australia. “I think (conditions) will suit our fast bowlers a lot better. We’ve got some good pace in our attack,” said Boucher.
He admitted disappointment with how the quick bowlers operated, particularly in the second ODI, in defence of a sub-par total in Ranchi. “The surprising thing for me was that I thought that India’s bowling in the One-Dayers was far more aggressive than what we did.
“We’ve taken some good lessons, had some good chats behind closed doors to speak about problems and things we can get a lot better at, which will stand us in good stead going to Australia where conditions are completely different.”
Marco Jansen was named in the full squad for the T20 World Cup in place of the injured Dwaine Pretorius, whose absence is a big blow. Jansen’s selection over Andile Phehlukwayo may surprise some, especially after a reasonably good tour to England earlier in the year. Phehlukwayo remains amongst the travelling reserves, with Lizaad Williams added to the group after Jansen’s promotion.
The Proteas One-Day side simply hasn’t achieved any sort of consistency under Boucher. He rightly pointed out issues around Covid-19 and players leaving for the IPL as was the case last year during the Pakistan home series didn’t help. However even when opportunities have presented themselves like against Sri Lanka, Ireland and Bangladesh, South Africa has lacked focus and an attention to detail.
David Miller, who stood in as captain on Tuesday’s match in Delhi, said the side needed to extend those periods when they were on top for longer, but more worryingly added that the players also “needed to read the flow of the game a bit better”.
The next 50-over assignment for the Proteas is in January and that crucial three match series with England.
For the next few weeks — Boucher’s final period in charge — the focus is on the T20s, and hopefully the lengthy flight from India to Australia will provide enough time to repair the damage from an embarrassing series defeat.
