South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has urged the Proteas fans and local media for support, as they are set to open their campaign in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 against Australia on Saturday, October 23 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, in Abu Dhabi.
Bavuma further admitted that there are high expectations from his team and they will be under intense pressure from their fans and media in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, but he just wants them to stay with the national team and support them as he assures full effort to deliver the best performance in the tournament.
In the pre-match press conference on Friday, Bavuma said: “We understand that our fans, our media, are quite unforgiving. There is a high demand for excellence at all times.”
He further added, “In saying that there are certain things we can control. As a team, we have come under heavy attack from the media over the last couple of years. We will keep as we have been doing, stay together as a team, as a family.”
Read Also: T20 World Cup 2021: Winning T20 World Cup would be my biggest achievement- Kagiso Rabada
The skipper also admitted that the matches against Australia have always been full of fire and South Africa would have a tough challenge in the T20 World Cup opener on Saturday, but they are keen to get off to a good start in Abu Dhabi in order to get an early advantage in the global tournament.
Bavuma said, “Matches against Australia have always been full of fire, and we don't expect it to be anything different tomorrow. Tomorrow being an opener for us, it's obviously a big game. I think the way the tournament is set up; you don't have time to be behind the eight ball.
We know what type of team they are so it is important for us that we bring our A game. We want to start off well. We want to hit the ground running and start to get that momentum rolling in our favor. But the guys, I believe, are in a good space.”
The South African captain also said his side had “some butterflies” ahead of the big game against Australia on Saturday. He continued, “I must be honest, there is a bit of anxiety amongst the guys, there are a bit of butterflies, and I think that's something that's expected. In terms of coming up against Australia, there's no motivation, no bigger motivation for the guys.”
On the importance of starting off the T20 World Cup on a winning note, Bavuma noted: “It's always good to start off well. You want to throw that first punch in early on and try to ride with that momentum as much as you can. I think the way the tournament is also set up with only five games in the group stages, you don't really have time to be behind the eight ball. We`ll be looking to really hit the ground running. Tomorrow (we will) play our best cricket and take it from there.”
He also stressed that South African batters, especially middle-order must put up a strong show against Australia in order not to allow their bowlers to hurt them in Abu Dhabi.
The skipper added, “Obviously, their bowling attack is quite strong. I think having played them in the past, their type of team they look to strike upfront, really try to get into that middle-order. So I think from our point of view with the bat, we want to make sure we play there powerful as well as we can so we don't allow them to kind of get into our middle-order with their slow bowlers.”
Bavuma also mentioned that Australia’s batting line-up is studded with high-scoring players like Aaron Finch, David Warner, and Steve Smith, and it is very important for South Africa to put them quickly under pressure in the match on Saturday.
He signed off by saying, “With the bat, I think they're quite top-heavy. Guys like Finch, guys like Warner, Smith at the top. So, we are aiming to strike them at the top and put their middle batters under pressure. The earlier we can get those guys in, I feel the more we can put them under pressure. But I think their side, they've got good resources, fast bowling, slow bowling, as well as from a batting point of view. So I think it will be a good encounter.”
(With AFP/IANS Inputs)
