Hamilton - The South Africa squad will split up when they head to Sydney on Tuesday, with two players going home, a few taking a holiday, and at least one getting preparations for his wedding into full gear.
While Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis go back home for a break ahead of the One-Day series against Australia, and AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn take a mini-holiday at a resort in Australia, Morné Morkel will be meeting his future in-laws as preparations for his wedding are wrapped up.
Morkel is marrying Australian TV journalist Roz Kelly in Stellenbosch on December 6.
“That’s a very important part (of the trip to Australia) to go and visit the in-laws,” Morkel said on Sunday. “We’re getting married on December 6, so it’s the perfect time to go and introduce myself and see how they are all doing.”
Naturally that’s very serious business for Morkel which is almost as important as the R & R for his teammates during a busy season, that culminates with the World Cup in February next year.
South Africa will play three T20 Internationals and five One-Day Internationals in Australia, followed by a three Test series against the West Indies, three T20 Internationals against the same team as well as five ODIs.
The players, particularly the senior group, will be carefully managed over that time.
De Villiers stressed the importance of smart management earlier on this tour, saying he wanted his players giving their full effort and not slacking off at any point to ensure they were fresh for the World Cup. “You can’t play around at 60 to 70percent just waiting for the World Cup to come; there’s no space for that,” said the South African captain.
A host of new players, including fast bowling sensation Kagiso Rabada along with Marchant de Lange, David Wiese and Farhaan Behardien will arrive in Sydney on Tuesday to start preparations for the three-match T20 series against a largely experimental Australian line-up. The South Africans will be captained by JP Duminy.
The Star