Multiple players in the SA squad stood up and delivered throughout their victorious campaign in the T20 tri-series.
The Proteas squad celebrate with the trophy after beating Zimbabwe in the T20 tri-series final in Namibia. Picture: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
Captain Bjorn Fortuin was relieved to see his team bounce back, with the Proteas turning things around after a poor start to lift the T20 International tri-series trophy in Windhoek.
Having lost their opening match of the series to hosts Namibia, the SA team went unbeaten through the rest of the series, defeating Zimbabwe by 48 runs in the final on Sunday.
“I think we sort of got carried away a bit in the first game,” said Fortuin, standing in for regular skipper Aiden Markram who was being rested.
“We let their (Namibia’s) intensity and willingness to do things we weren’t willing to do on the day sort of dictate things, and once we sort of got a foothold in the comp and started asserting our own authority and playing towards our own strengths, we just saw the team going from strength to strength.
“Hopefully that’s not a trend just for this tournament but for many years to come.”
All-round team effort
With the Proteas having taken a second-string squad on tour to face lower-ranked opposition, Fortuin was pleased that multiple players stood up and delivered.
Top-order batters Lhuan-dré Pretorius and Dewald Brevis were the top run scorers in the T20 tri-series, with both players contributing 226 runs at an average of 56.50, while rookie fast bowler Duan Jansen, who took 11 wickets, and spinner Fortuin, who bagged 10 scalps, were the most successful bowlers.
“Having different guys contributing as a whole is a bonus… so it was nice to see guys winning the game from different positions in the team and different situations in the game as well,” Fortuin said.
“Not only is that good for their development but it should hold the team in good stead going into the future.”
Raising the standard in Africa
Fortuin also felt it was important for South Africa to compete against other African nations in an attempt to help raise the standard of the game on the continent.
“For Africa as a whole it’s massively important for us to grow the game wherever we can,” he said.
“Obviously as South Africans we are quite privileged to have a fairly bigger audience than the other two countries (Zimbabwe and Namibia), so I wouldn’t say it falls on our shoulders but we do have some sort of responsibility to grow the game within areas of Africa.
“We’ve seen the game expand massively over the past two to three years and we’ve seen multiple teams upset other teams at World Cups, and hopefully we can see more African teams being competitive, not only in Africa but on the world stage as well.”
Looking ahead
The Proteas will now face Namibia in a three-match ODI series starting in Windhoek on Wednesday.
It was confirmed on Monday that Pretorius, who missed the T20 tri-series final due to a groin injury, and fast bowler Andile Simelane, who picked up an abdominal strain, had been withdrawn from the SA squad for the ODI campaign.
They had been replaced by Matthew Breetzke and Corbin Bosch.
