New venue and a range of conditions: Proteas ‘excited’ for T20 World Cup

Conditions will be difficult to predict and could be somewhat of a leveller, says national limited overs coach Rob Walter, as the Proteas prepare for an “exciting” tournament at the T20 World Cup to be jointly hosted by the United States and West Indies in June.

South Africa have been drawn against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Netherlands and Nepal in the opening round, in Group C.

They will play their first three matches at Nassau Country International Cricket Stadium in New York, a temporary venue which is being constructed for the tournament.

“It’s incredibly exciting going to a new venue that’s literally being created for the World Cup,” Walter said after announcing a 15-man squad for the tournament on Tuesday.

“I think that sort of creates a level playing field in terms of a conditions point of view because nobody really knows what we’re going to get, so the ability to respond to those conditions quickly is going to be imperative.”

Change of venues

For their final group stage match, the SA team will move on to Kingstown in the Caribbean island nation of Saint Vincent, as they target a place in the Super Eight stage.

Adjusting quickly to conditions would be crucial throughout the event, Walter felt, as it had been when the national side reached the semifinals of the 50-over World Cup in India last year.

Despite the challenges they faced, he believed they had the balance required to be able to challenge for South Africa’s maiden senior global cricket title.

“We move to the West Indies for our final game (of the group stage), and if we get into the Super Eights we’ll have a broad variety of conditions,” Walter said.

“West Indies, like India, can throw up a varied number of conditions, so to have a good balance and players who can play well in all conditions is important.”