“To concede 40 the last two, actually 60 in the last four – that’s criminal,” said Proteas captain, Temba Bavuma, after South Africa lost the fourth T20 to the West Indies by 21 runs.
After being reduced to 63/3 after 9 overs, the West Indies launched a spectacular counterattack thanks to Kieron Pollard’s unbeaten 51 off 25 balls, which took them to 167/6 at the end of 20 overs.
Bavuma conceded that the South African bowlers needed to adapt their skills to conditions in the Caribbean. “Looking at our bowlers, in terms of aggression, in terms of pace, bowling on quick, bouncy wickets, that’s a skill set that becomes null and void in these types of conditions. Maybe we have been found wanting in that department.”
With the South African bowling struggling, Bavuma revealed that Lizaad Williams and Beuran Hendricks will “come back into the picture.”
Throughout this series, the South African team have maintained that 180 is achievable on these pitches. Expounding on the plans made by the batting unit:
“We identified that the first ten overs is where it’s easier to bat. The first powerplay, we’ve been good. Been managing to get scores in excess of 55. We’ve tried to carry on that momentum, that intensity from the 7-10 mark. I think we’ve been good.
“The challenge, especially in these conditions, is to keep up that type of intensity after the 10th over, and really set to dominate the last 10 overs of the innings. That’s where we’ve found it tough as batters. Pace being taken off the ball, ball getting soft at the end. From a skill point of view, that’s what we need to figure out.”