“Clashes against Australia have been full of fire,” said South African captain, Temba Bavuma, ahead of South Africa’s opening T20 World Cup encounter against Australia in Abu Dhabi.
The Proteas are fully aware of the importance of winning against Australia, given the competitive nature of their games over the years.
“There is a bit of anxiety, a bit of butterflies. In terms of coming up against Australia, there is no bigger motivation for the boys.” South Africa hope to “hit the ground running and get the momentum in our favour.”
Bavuma emphasized the importance of starting the tournament well, with only five games in the group stages. “We’ll try to play our best cricket and take it from there,” said Bavuma.
Australia’s T20 performances over the last few months have been underwhelming, with defeats to the West Indies and Bangladesh. Bavuma warned against underestimating Australia because of their past results, and remains wary of the threat they can present.
Bavuma is confident in South Africa’s squad, and convinced that they have all bases covered. “I am confident in the squad we have here. We’ve been playing together for quite a while. We’ve tried to cover all our bases,” Bavuma said.
In the two warm-up games, both of which South Africa won, Bavuma was criticized for his low strike-rate. Unfazed by the criticism, he attributed his strike-rate to “adjusting to conditions and trying to formulate a game plan.” Additionally, Bavuma explained, “I haven’t played cricket in quite a while.”
South Africa’s T20 series wins over the last few months have been encouraging. With that confidence in the setup, the team will, as Bavuma said, “Throw the first punch in and ride the momentum.”
