So far, so good for SA

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Cape Town

SA’s experiment in Bangladesh is working. So far: it’s early days yet and their thumping win over a Board XI in Friday’s T20 warm-up match in Fatullah cannot be taken seriously.

But as a stock take of players on the shelf ahead of the World T20 in India in March and April it served the purpose, particularly among the bowlers.

So much so that the only players who did not turn their arms over on Friday were captain Faf du Plessis and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock.

David Wiese took his chance to remind the selectors what he is about with a haul of 3/13 in three overs. Kyle Abbott, meanwhile, claimed the neon figures of 2-0-2-2.

Four members of the nine-man attack went for less than a run a ball and only three went wicketless.

Evidence of the SA bowlers’ discipline was in the fact that they bowled five batsmen and trapped another in front.

All of which helped dismiss the home side for 99 in 18 overs, which left little opportunity for SA’s batsmen to strutt their stuff.

De Kock and AB de Villiers clipped 64 runs together before retiring after seven overs. JP Duminy and David Miller got SA over the line with eight overs to spare.

But, considering SA were playing their first match as a team since March and in conditions most foreign to them, they should be satisfied with their innings runrate of 8.42.

Besides, the Board XI weren’t the worst. Five members of their team had no international experience but the rest accounted for 58 test caps, 269 one-day international appearances and 62 of the T20 international variety. Still, only three of them reached double figures.

Friday’s match was SA’s only match practice before the T20 series of two games against Bangladesh, which starts in Dhaka on Sunday.