Tabraiz Shamsi to play South Africa’s T20 World Cup opener after passing fitness test
Captain Temba Bavuma says South Africa could field three frontline spinners, but will take call on the morning of the match
“Their bowling attack is quite strong. They are the type of team that look to strike upfront and really try to get into the middle order,” Bavuma said. “We want to make sure we play the powerplay as well as we can so we don’t allow them to get into the middle order with their slower bowlers.”
Nonetheless Bavuma was aware that there could be some criticism over his pacing of innings, and the team in general. “We understand our fans and media are quite unforgiving,” he said. “There is a high demand for excellence at all times and we understand that as professionals, we will be judged according to that standard. There are certain things we can control and that’s what we do on the field. Everything else we try to keep away from the team. We try to focus as much energy inwards and on each other. That’s something we’ve done over the last while. As a team, as individuals we’ve come under heavy attack from the media, from the fans over the last while. I don’t think it will be any different. We will keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent
For all the latest Sports News Click Here