ODI additions bring fresh energy to squad Monday, October 28, 2013 THE Castle Lager ODI squad will benefit from the fresh energy from the new faces as they prepare for the five-match series against Pakistan starting in Sharjah on Wednesday. The Proteas are coming off a comprehensive victory against Pakistan in the drawn Test series, and will be taking a similar approach despite the change in format. “I don’t think we will take a different approach,” coach, Russell Domingo said after the squad’s opening training session at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday. “South Africa has always played a certain brand of cricket and the plus is that there are a few new young players coming in, some new energy that is being brought into the squad. Guys like David Miller, Colin Ingram, Lonwabo Tsotsobe have all been doing well in domestic cricket, so they bring a sense of freshness to the side.” The squad understands they will need to lift their performances considerably against a strong Pakistan side, especially after their disappointing 4-1 loss to Sri Lanka in July. “I don’t want to point fingers to any particular aspect, we were beaten comprehensively in every department,” he said of the series against Sri Lanka. “There were games where we lost too many wickets upfront, which hampered us so I wouldn’t necessarily say it was our bowling that let us down.” Gary Kirsten will join the squad on Wednesday, and brings added value, particularly for the younger inexperienced batsmen who struggled in Sri Lanka. “Gary and I have had a relationship for nearly 10 years now,” Domingo said. “We always said we would want to have him in the system in some way and for me not to utilize his expertise would be a disadvantage. He is a World-cup winning coach, 100 Test veteran with 250 ODI’s, so I definitely see him playing a mentoring role with some of our young batters.” Apart from the change in personnel, Domingo also hinted at trying out different batting and bowling combinations, one of whom, Vernon Philander, could play an important role. “Vernon’s Test form has been unbelievable over the last year and a half,” he remarked. “I suppose in one-day cricket Vernon brings a sense of control to the bowling attack; what you are going to get from him in terms of the lines and lengths particularly with the new ball and he also offers a lot of depth in the batting.”
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 05:32:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015