Proteas captain Aiden Markram says the series against the West Indies was a valuable hitout for his side ahead of the T20 World Cup.
South Africa cliched the series 2-1 after winning the opening two matches by nine and seven wickets before falling six runs short in a rain-shortened, 10-overs-a-side third clash.
While the series was reduced from five to three matches due to the official World Cup support period starting this week, Markram believes the squad got what it needed.
“We can take a fair bit of confidence because the guys played well in the SA20,” he said. “Guys put up their hands for their respective teams and won games for them, which is what you want to see leading into a World Cup.”
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That confidence translated into performances, with the top order showing encouraging form. Quinton de Kock, Markram and Ryan Rickelton all registered 50-plus scores during the series, reinforcing combinations that had already clicked in the SA20.
“Guys can take that confidence with them moving forward, and in this series, role definition was nicely defined for us,” Markram said. “That’s a bonus for us, and once we get to India, we can hopefully pick a team based on the conditions.”
Those conditions are expected to vary, with the Proteas playing three matches in Ahmedabad before heading to Delhi. While Indian pitches have recently favoured high-scoring games, Markram is wary of reading too much into form elsewhere.
“I have no idea how they’re going to play,” he said. “If the pitches play like the one we played on [Saturday], we’ll have to bat accordingly and find what works as a good total.
“We’ll also have to chase down whatever’s been set, and the West Indies played our spinners very well in this game. But we back our batters and our spinners.”
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With Keshav Maharaj and George Linde selected as frontline left-arm options, Markram is confident the Proteas are well covered.
“Kesh and George are different types of left-arm spinners,” he said. “There is variation in that, but there are options in me, Dewald [Brevis] and Stubbo [Tristan Stubbs] bowling if we’re needed.
“If the conditions allow for that, we’ll have a role to play, so I do feel we have enough in the tank. We still have both bases covered.”
The Proteas departed for India on Sunday and begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Canada in Ahmedabad on Monday, 9 February, followed by matches against Afghanistan (11 February), New Zealand (14 February) and the UAE (18 February).
Proteas squad: Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
