No magic needed to win WT20, says Du Plessis

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Johannesburg

Ordinarily, a match against Bangladesh A would struggle to make the priority list of a SA team used to taking on bigger, better opposition.

But SA’s game against the Bangladesh second string in Fatullah tomorrow is not ordinary. Instead it is one of only two chances Faf du Plessis’ team will have to sort themselves out before the start of their 2014 World T20 campaign.

A higher profile contest against Pakistan looms at the same venue on Wednesday, and then the real deal arrives when they play Sri Lanka in Chittagong on Saturday.

Sort themselves out SA will have to do in the wake of their 2-0 series loss to Australia in this format last week. SA came second with bat and ball as well as in the field against the Aussies, and know they have work to do if they are to chase down the Proteas’ first trophy since 1998.

But Du Plessis also knew there was no mystery about the task facing his team.

“There’s nothing magical that you can do to win a World Cup,” he said yesterday. “You need guys in form. If you have them you give yourselves an opportunity to compete.

“If you can play good cricket during the build-up and then get to the semis, just play the game. There is nothing different about it.

“When it comes to choking, for me it’s simple. You need to play the best cricket you can play and if you get beaten on the day, (it’s acceptable) as long as the other team played better cricket.”

Du Plessis felt “this tournament is going to be won and lost on spin”, that Imran Tahir was a “fantastic” asset in that regard, but that he also had “really good” fast bowlers at his disposal. SA’s batting, meanwhile, bristled with “destructive hitters”.

Not all of them have that kind of intent currently. Among the SA players who will want to get the most out of tomorrow’s game is the peerless Hashim Amla, who has passed 50 just twice in his last 13 innings across all formats and at all levels.

Amla took a test century off the Australians at St George’s Park last month, but he couldn’t get past four and two in the T20s. He is the No. 4 ranked batsman in tests and ODIs, but No. 47 in the shortest format.

“All players are going to have some sort of dip in form but you can’t question his ability and his quality,” Russell Domingo said. “He averages over 50 in test cricket and he was the No. 1 one-day batsman in the world.”

“To expect him to perform at that level every time he walks out to bat is unreasonable and unfair. I’m pretty confident that when it counts in the WT20, Hashim will be one of the guys we can rely on to put in a big performance.”

The slower surfaces of the subcontinent afford batsmen the time required to play themselves back into form. But Amla and the rest of SA’s squad can hear the clock ticking.