Times Media
TELFORD VICE, Cape Town
AB de Villiers trod a tightrope at OR Tambo International in Johannesburg on Monday before he and the rest of the SA one-day and T20 squads jetted off Down Under.
SA will play three ODIs in New Zealand, and three T20s and five ODIs in Australia in the stiffest test of their readiness for next year’s World Cup.
ODI captain De Villiers was careful not to say anything that could end up being printed and pasted onto those opponents’ dressingroom walls.
“I don’t think they’re a bits and pieces team anymore - they’re too competitive to be labelled like that,” De Villiers said about the Kiwis, who have a knack for playing nuggety cricket despite what undeniably remains a bits and pieces side.
All good. But De Villiers found it more tricky to be unqualifiedly nice about the Aussies, what with the happy memory of beating them in the Triangular Series final in Harare on September 6 still fresh.
“They’re very hungry, especially after we beat them in Zimbabwe, and they’ll want to give us some payback,” he said.
“I believe we’ve got a bit of an edge of over them. We played better cricket than them in Zimbabwe and that’s why we won.
“But I don’t want to say anything silly.”
Too late, the Aussies might tell him.
That said, SA have won 14 ODIs and lost 16 against the Aussies in Australia. The tables are turned in New Zealand, where they have won seven and lost nine against the home side.
Australia’s hard, fast surfaces make more sense to South Africans than New Zealand’s putty pitches, but best SA reacquaint themselves properly with the latter – they will play half of their six World Cup group games there.
“It will be good to get a bit of confidence against two teams I see as threats in the World Cup,” De Villiers said.
He expected SA to be tested “mentally and physically”, and he was particularly keen on seeing them lift their standards in the field.
“It’s not about the basics,” De Villiers said. “It’s doing special things that I see other teams do that turn games around, and we are not in the two best fielding sides in the world.”
He also held out hope to players who might think the selectors had already chosen the World Cup squad: “I can’t see five or seven changes but there’s certainly a spot or two up for grabs.”
SA will be captained by JP Duminy in the T20s they will play between the one-day series.
Duminy, who has one senior game’s worth of captaincy experience, will step into the breach normally occupied by Faf du Plessis, who will be rested.
“I’ve been part of the leadership group for about a year now, and this is a chance to lead from the front,” Duminy said.
“It’s about authenticity. I might get it wrong but it’s a great opportunity to see where I stand.”
Although the buck would stop with him, Duminy knew he would not be alone.
“Our strength lies in the fact that nobody has sole responsibility,” he said. “If you don’t have the answers, seek the answers.”
The state of Wayne Parnell’s shoulder injury would be “monitored in New Zealand”, team manager Mohammed Moosajee said.
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