Proteas captain AB de Villiers has asked for a ‘better team performance’ ahead of the sixth match of the Tri-Nation One-Day International (ODI) series against the West Indies in St Kitts.
Although the batting collapse in the loss to Australia was the glaring let down, the skipper believes the team can improve in all disciplines for the all-important clash at Warner Park.
“We need a better team performance, that is the word that stands out for me, us operating as a team,” he said to the media at Warner Park on Tuesday. “We didn’t do that well in the last match, if we get that right against the West Indies I believe we will come out on top.”
De Villiers hinted at the possibility of team changes for the match, and stressed the importance of unpredictability in selection while finding the critical balance based on the opposition and conditions.
The selectors have a fully fit squad with Chris Morris recovering from injury and Dean Elgar slotting in following Rilee Rossouw’s injury.
“I’m a big believer that in a series like this, where there are three different teams and venues, you have to chop and change as you go on,” he explained. “You have to try and be unpredictable but at the same time obtain some consistency in your performances.
“We have let ourselves down a few times with our performances, but I have enjoyed the way we have changed the balance of the side. I feel all of the guys who have come in have performed well individually, but I still feel that as a team we haven’t clicked well yet. That will be our focus for tomorrow, just really operating and gelling together, if we do that I believe we’ll play those pressure situations much better.”
The captain is cautious of a confident home team that has built some consistency in performances over the last few months, and says his team will have to put in their most complete performance of the series to keep up with the rest of the pack on the log.
“They are not as unpredictable as they used to be, they have become a good ODI unit,” De Villiers said. “They seem to know exactly what they are doing, they have world-class players in both their batting and bowling line-ups. They are a force, especially in their home conditions, they know what to expect and how to handle the various conditions that we are faced with here.”
Triangular Series Itinerary
June
Wed 15 West Indies vs South Africa – Warner Park
Sun19 Australia vs South Africa – Kensington Oval, Barbados
Tue 21 West Indies vs Australia – Kensington Oval
Fri 24 West Indies vs South Africa – Kensington Oval
Sun 26 The Final – Kensington Oval
Proteas ODI squad: AB de Villiers (The Unlimited Titans, capt), Kyle Abbott (Warriors), Hashim Amla (Cape Cobras), Farhaan Behardien (The Unlimited Titans), Quinton de Kock (The Unlimited Titans), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), Faf du Plessis (The Unlimited Titans), Dean Elgar (Unlimited Titans), Imran Tahir (Sunfoil Dolphins), Morne Morkel (The Unlimited Titans), Chris Morris (The Unlimited Titans), Wayne Parnell (Cape Cobras), Aaron Phangiso (bizhub Highveld Lions), Kagiso Rabada (bizhub Highveld Lions), Tabraiz Shamsi (The Unlimited Titans). – Cricket South Africa