An “excited and nervous” South African head coach Mark Boucher said his players are ready to show their aggressive brand of cricket to the world in the upcoming limited-overs series against England.
South Africa and England are all set to play three One Day Internationals and as many as T20 Internationals with the series starting on the 27th of November in Newlands. Presently, players from both sides are in quarantine in Cape Town and will play intra-squad games in preparation before the series.
Boucher told reporters on Thursday (November 19): “We have started afresh and restructured our values. It is all based on a performance model. Now is the time we can put it to the test, and who better to test us than the (50-over) world champions England. I am excited and nervous, but I think that is a good thing. A lot of the players are nervous, too.”
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The head coach further explained that the new philosophy is about a change in mindset and a more positive approach to the game.
He further added, “We want to be nice and aggressive, that is the way the game is going. You can’t be mavericks either, you need to be smart. We are trying to help the batters and bowlers add shots or varieties of balls to their game to help them develop.”
With the two T20 World Cups in the next two years – first in India in Oct-Nov 2021 and then a year later in Australia, Boucher said he would still like to have AB de Villiers for these events at the side.
He signed off by saying, “I have not had a discussion with him since COVID-19. We will see as we get closer to the time of the World Cup. I still believe he is one of the best players in the world.”
(With Hindustan Times Inputs)
