Standard Bank Proteas T20 captain, JP Duminy, said the squad will start the KFC T20 International Series against India on a clean sheet after the disappointing One-Day International (ODI) series loss on Friday.
He said the injection of some new faces and fresh energy will be a welcome boost, along with a change of format and mindset.
Duminy said he believed it would be important for the squad to move on from the ODI ‘baggage’ and to target the series with renewed perspective and motivation.
The players held a practice session at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Saturday, and given the short turnaround of formats, will have to be positive and on the front foot for the first match at Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.
“The new faces will definitely help,” Duminy said in a statement ahead of the match on Sunday.
“We will feed off the freshness of the new faces around. It has been a dismal one-day series for us where India has outplayed us and it is something that we have to take on the chin. It is perhaps a realisation for us that we are far from the finished article going into a World Cup in over a year,” Duminy said.
He said the ODI loss was “a good reality check and each player has to look at how they can improve and make it into that 15-man squad in a year.”
“I am quite excited to be able to lead. The leadership role has brought out the best in me over the last four months with the WSB Cape Cobras.”
Cricket South Africa said that the match would be played in celebration of Nelson Mandela’s centenary year (2018) and both teams will be playing in honour of the legacy he has built for the country and sport in particular.
(Statement: Supplied)
