Shukri Conrad shares thoughts ahead of ODI series

Newly appointed red-ball coach Shukri Conrad, who is yet to start his tenure, will be in charge as interim coach of the Proteas for their highly important One-Day International series against current World Champions England which begins on Friday 27 January. Here are his thoughts. | ✍️ Naeemah Benjamin

“I want to be up against the best sides in the world and get a pretty good idea of where we’re at as a side.”

Conrad has not shied away from the fact that this is a must-win series for the Proteas and with little to no time as the team just got back from their respective SA20 franchises.

He reiterated that the energies were really good having chatted with the guys upon their arrival and that not much time will be spent explaining the importance of the series.

The squad is pretty much a settled side and they fully understand what is required in the series.

South Africa finds themselves hanging by a thread with the World Cup drawing closer and they’re nowhere near automatic qualification as of yet still below the red line.

“We certainly not going to be burdening guys with the ‘we have to, we have to (win)’, I think everyone’s aware of that so the focus really is about playing good cricket.

“There must be some concerns otherwise we wouldn’t find ourselves with a possibility of qualifiers looming. I think on the batting side of things, it’s just identifying and committing to the type of cricket we want to play.

“Similarly, our bowling strength is right up there, so identifying key moments in the game – which approach we need to take, what is the right option and then committing to that and wanting to win all those big moments.

“As long as we can create that culture of learning while also taking the aggressive option, that will go a long way to getting success for us.”

ALSO READ: Winning England series, the objective for Conrad

Rob Walter will officially be at the helm of the white-ball side from 1st February and both coaches seem to have an understanding and have identified the brand of cricket they want to play. Both coaches plan to work together in ensuring good cricket is being played across formats.

“Both mine and Rob’s philosophy is quite a simple one. We really want to invest all of our energies into the process of playing really good cricket. We want out of this week for guys to identify when a key moment is and which option to take and hopefully, that is an aggressive option and that goes a long way in ensuring us winning the game.”

Conrad has echoed the importance of commitment and understanding your game as well as the way the team is going to play moving forward. He’s also highlighted that conditions are a factor and you can’t have a one-size-fits-all approach. The team needs to adapt, and quickly as well.

The first ODI will take place in Bloemfontein on 27 January at 13:00 SAST.

SQUAD: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen.

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