Proteas wary of minnows Ireland ahead of T20 series, says Markram

Having been thumped in a 2-1 defeat to Afghanistan in last week’s ODI series in Sharjah, the Proteas will need to get their planning right to avoid another upset in their two-match T20 series against Ireland in Abu Dhabi this weekend, captain Aiden Markam has warned.

Though Ireland don’t carry the same giant-killing status as Afghanistan, they have picked up victories over Pakistan and Afghanistan this year in the T20 format.

Currently five places below South Africa in the T20 International rankings, Ireland were dumped out in the opening round of the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States in June, where the Proteas reached the final, but Markram insisted the SA team were wary of the minnows.

“They’ve become a really good team in world cricket and are capable of beating any team in the world at the moment, so we must give a lot of credit to them and their growth as a cricketing nation,” Markram said.

“For us to nullify their threat it will all just come down to our planning and tactics… generally now where cricket is going, it’s small margins that can win or lose you games, and if we can identify that going into the series from a planning point of view, hopefully we give ourselves the best chance to get it right out in the middle.”

New faces in squad

Of the 16 players who formed part of the Proteas ODI squad that lost to Afghanistan last week, 12 have been retained for the T20 series against Ireland.

Temba Bavuma, Tony de Zorzi, Andile Phehlukwayo and Kyle Verreynne will all skip the T20 campaign, while Matthew Breetzke, Patrick Kruger and Ryan Rickelton have been drafted in.

Bavuma, De Zorzi, Phehlukwayo and Verreynne will be available again for the ODI series against Ireland next week.

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Despite some changes being made to the squad, Markram said they wouldn’t be looking to make too many adjustments.

While they would rely on form players to build momentum on their UAE tour, however, he did hope some of the new players would give them a boost.

“I can’t see a massive reshuffle, but we’ll definitely get a few fresh faces in that weren’t part of the ODI series and see what energy they can bring for us,” he said.

South Africa will face Ireland in T20 Internationals in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Sunday.