“The team is hungry to succeed in different conditions,” said Proteas Assistant Coach, Enoch Nkwe, ahead of the T20 series between South Africa and Ireland. 

Although South Africa beat a full-strength West Indies team to win the T20 series by a 3-2 margin, Nkwe conceded that the team talked about the various phases in the game where the Proteas came up short.

However, with back-to-back tours, there isn’t always a lot of time to make amends, but the team remains unfazed by that. “The fortunate thing with back-to-back tours, it doesn’t give us too much time to think about the negatives,” said Nkwe. 

While South Africa is intent on winning as many games as possible, the key is “to master our processes. By the time we conclude the Sri Lanka tour, we want to be happy about what we put in place.” 

Nkwe and the team management are keen on trying new players in different roles to “broaden our net.” They want  to see “different personnel in different roles and see how they respond.” 

Since the playing conditions that the Proteas will have experienced in the West Indies, Ireland, and Sri Lanka will be different to what they encounter in the UAE, Nkwe has emphasized the importance of mental flexibility. “Every single game is going to be different. Let’s be flexible and use it to our advantage.” 

Nkwe confirmed that Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma will be opening the batting. “We want to get our top order as stable as possible.”