Batters must ‘do a better job’ for Proteas this weekend, says Hendricks

Having produced a largely unsupported effort to carry the Proteas batting line-up in their midweek loss, opener Reeza Hendricks admits the SA team will need to raise their game if they are going to bounce back against the West Indies this weekend.

The tourists were handed a 28-run defeat in the first of three T20 Internationals against their hosts in Kingston on Thursday night.

Chasing 176 runs to win, Hendricks laid a solid foundation with a career-best 87 runs at the top of the order. He was the only player, however, to score more than 20 runs as South Africa were bundled out for 147 in the final over of their innings.

“I’m pleased with the way I went about it but at the end we obviously didn’t get over the line, so in that regard it was very disappointing,” Hendricks said after the match.

“I think the batters will have a good chat now and reflect on today’s game, and hopefully in the second game we can come out and do a better job than we did today.”

Unfamiliar conditions

Looking ahead to the second and third matches on Saturday and Sunday nights (both starting at 9pm SA time), also being played at Sabina Park in Kingston, Hendricks said the Proteas would have a better idea of the conditions as they looked to turn things around and secure a series victory on the eve of the T20 World Cup.

With only six World Cup squad members in the team on Thursday, South Africa had to rely on a handful of inexperienced players.

Five of the individuals in the side for the series opener had played less than a handful of T20 Internationals, including top-order batter Ryan Rickelton and seam bowler Ottneil Baartman, who made their debuts.

Hendricks, however, felt they had learned a lot in the first match of their short campaign, and this would benefit them in the remaining two fixtures.

“Most of us haven’t really toured the Caribbean, so it’s new to us and we’ll have to assess and do our homework, and take it from there,” he said.

“The ball got slower and assisted the spin but now we’ve got the knowledge and experience of how it played today, and hopefully we can come out better in the next game.”