Castle Lager Proteas have prepared for a change of mindset for the third Momentum One-Day International (ODI) against the West Indies at Buffalo Park on Wednesday January 21. The squad has hit the reset button following Sunday’s big win and will have to adapt to the vastly different coastal conditions, which will need a change of approach.
“Generally the scores here are a lot lower,” Hashim Amla said after the squad’s training session at Buffalo Park on Tuesday. “The outfield is bigger and a bit slower, the wicket itself is a lot slower than what we are used to elsewhere in the country. It’s a different type of mindset that we have coming into this game. It will be a lot harder to bat, things might take a bit more time, and from the bowling front there isn’t a lot of assistance seam-wise for the bowlers; a different set of skills is needed.”
Amla says the squad has treated their emphatic 148-run win like “any other win” and have been cautious of being overwhelmed by the emotion and hype surrounding the team for the past couple of days.
“It was a big win from a runs point of view,” he said. “A win is a win, and we know games like that don’t happen often, probably once or twice in your career. I don’t think we will be placing a lot of emotion to how big the win was, except that it was a good and solid win for us.”
Victory on Wednesday will guarantee the Proteas the series, but more importantly, the psychological boost of winning three matches in a row.
“In terms of preparation, it would be great for us to get three wins in a row,” Amla explained. “When going to the World Cup, you need to have good momentum with you and you need to get into a rhythm of winning match after match to make sure you go into the qualifying rounds in a good position. With that in mind, I think it’s important for us to win this game and to keep that winning mindset.”
