“The conditions changed slightly compared to yesterday,” said Proteas batsman, Reeza Hendricks, after South Africa won the second T20 against the West Indies, leveling the series 1-1.
Hendricks pointed out that the ball was stopping on the pitch when the South African spinners were bowling to the West Indian batsmen. George Linde and Tabraiz Shamsi succeeded in limiting West Indies’ scoring opportunities, conceding 35 runs and taking three wickets in their eight overs.
Although South Africa posted totals upwards of 160 in both games, the batsmen struggled to accelerate in the middle and death overs. “I wouldn’t say the batting plans changed. To be fair, the West Indies and the way they bowled, especially the middle period to the back end, they bowled really well, and executed their plans really well,” said Hendricks. However, Hendricks is reasonably happy with his opening partnership with Quinton de Kock. “Happy with the first six, definitely areas to improve.” To put in a dominant batting display, “It would be ideal to have one of the top five batting 15 overs onwards.”
With questions around the balance of the team, given that Hendricks is also being considered a bowling option, Hendricks said, “The first game, we had to try something new. The bowlers didn’t execute well. They just gave me the ball to try something out. It didn’t work out as planned.”