Johannesburg - The top order batsmen of the Proteas have struggled in the opening matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup, but will take confidence from their impressive record of 28 hundreds in their last 34 matches.
The past success will serve as a reminder for the South African team as when they take on the West Indies in their ICC Cricket World Cup Group B match at the Sydney Cricket ground (SCG) on Friday.
“It's obvious that after the game the other day we were disappointed. What you can reflect on are some of the stats on our batting unit, we have scored the most hundreds over the last year,” said Faf du Plessis on Wednesday.
“Our average as a top six is also the highest in the last year so consistency is always a thing you look at, stats don’t lie. We have to look at the positives, look at what we have been doing this year, we batted brilliantly over the last 18 months.”
The Proteas are aware of the importance of a win against the West Indies following their 130-run loss to India, as their World Cup campaign picks up momentum with matches against Ireland, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to come.
Du Plessis says it will be important to dismiss Chris Gayle early on in his innings, following his world record innings against Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
“It’s unfortunate that Zimbabwe decided to bowl Chris Gayle into some good form. We played a series against them in South Africa and we know what kind of team they are, they a dangerous and have a lot of match-winners.”
Early morning showers forced the Proteas indoors for their training session at the SCG on Wednesday.
The T20 captain feels the optional training session will benefit the squad, particularly the bowlers, who took some strain during the high temperatures and intensity in Melbourne on Sunday.
“These days we are used to playing series’ where there are one or two days of practises. We would obviously like the practice to get some time to get plans in place but we have had a lot of practice sessions, one extra session is not going to make a huge difference.”
Sapa