Cape Town - Hashim Amla has called on the Proteas’ top-order batsmen to take responsibility and see the team home in Wednesday’s crucial Tri-Nation clash against the West Indies in St Kitts (7pm start).
The Proteas were in prime position to knock over Australia for the second consecutive match on Saturday as they were cruising at 210/3 in the 38th over as they chased 289 to win, with captain AB de Villiers and JP Duminy at the crease.
But De Villiers went for a big drive and was bowled by Josh Hazlewood, and it trigged a disastrous collapse as the South Africans lost their last seven wickets for just 42 runs to be dismissed for 252 in the 48th over.
The top five of Quinton de Kock (19), Amla (60), Faf du Plessis (63), De Villiers (39) and Duminy (41) all made starts, but couldn’t match David Warner’s sparkling 109 off 120 balls that set the platform for Australia’s imposing 288/6 in 50 overs.
Warner, though, will miss the rest of the tournament with a broken finger.
None of the Proteas bottom six reached double figures either, but Amla said the specialist batsmen must take charge. “We were in a good position to win the game. There were some soft dismissals which made it challenging to get there,” the right-handed opener said from St Kitts on Monday.
“Credit must go to Australia, they played good cricket, especially during the middle period when myself and Faf got out, it made it tough for the rest of the batsmen. We couldn’t get partnerships going for long enough. There was a lot of time in the game, there were 70 runs to chase in the last 10 overs and on that wicket, it was gettable.
“As a team we’ve always backed someone in the top six to bat through and take us as deep as possible. There is always a responsibility for any of the batsmen to close out the game. Regardless of whoever is batting at seven, eight and nine, it is up to the top order to get the team the win. Hopefully we don’t make the same mistake in the next game. It’s still early in the competition and we can pull it back.”
Farhaan Behardien was the hero in the previous game against Australia in Guyana when he scored a match-winning 62 to push the Proteas to 189 on a slow and low wicket, and he will hope to have some extra support on Wednesday from Chris Morris, who could bolster the lower-order batting after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury.
Morris passed a fitness test on Monday, so it will be interesting to see what kind of bowling line-up coach Russell Domingo chooses, as only Kagiso Rabada really came in for some tap (1/66 in eight overs).
Wayne Parnell (1/34 in seven) and Kyle Abbott (1/50 in 10) kept things relatively tight on a good batting pitch, while spin twins Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso both conceded less than six runs an over and took three wickets between themselves.