South Africa head coach Mark Boucher said that the Proteas presently do not have a set plan on how to tackle England’s newly aggressive approach, dubbed 'bazball' in the upcoming three-match Test series, starting on Wednesday (August 17).
While India and New Zealand failed to counter England’s new formula, Boucher said South Africa will adopt a wait-and-see attitude and play a smart cricket in the upcoming Test series.
Mark Boucher said at a press conference: “I don’t know, I’ll tell you on the day. We’ve got to be adaptable in test cricket. It’s just about finding a way to try and stop their momentum and maybe change it. We believe we’ve been playing a nice brand of cricket and played some tight series recently where we have come out on top.”
He further added, “We want to be smart, play aggressive cricket but you’ve got to be smart with that as well. The bottom line is this game is between bat and ball and we’ve got to make smart decisions at certain times of the game, and we are focused on trying to do that.
England will probably do the same, they have their brand they want to play. We’ve just got to try and match it on the day and try to find ways to negate it.”
Meanwhile, Boucher is hoping his premier fast bowler Kagiso Rabada would be fit to play in the first Test against England on Wednesday after an ankle ligament injury.
Boucher signed off by saying, “The one concern will be the load on his body and he will have a final test today. I’m hoping he’ll pull through, because he’s a massive player for us. For him to be part of the final XI will be very special for us.”
(With Reuters Inputs)
