Walter backs Proteas bowlers to do the job against West Indies

Proteas white ball coach Rob Walter is backing his bowlers to do the job when they take on the West Indies in their three match T20 series getting under way at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago on Friday (9pm SA time).

Fresh off a positive Test series win over the hosts the Proteas will be hoping to back that up with a T20 series win, albeit with a much changed squad, featuring a number of young and inexperienced players.

It is the second T20 series for the Proteas in the West Indies in three months, after they battled it out against the hosts in a three game series before the T20 World Cup got under way, back in May.

On that occasion the Proteas suffered a three-nil whitewash at the hands of a fired up Windies, but they did manage to get a bit of revenge by beating them during the Super 8 phase of the World Cup.

Early wickets

In that series the Proteas’ main struggle was taking early wickets, which allowed the Windies to amass big totals which they defended, but Walter believes they have more than enough firepower to curb that this time.

“We definitely have enough firepower. If you look at the bowling department we have Ottneil (Baartman), Lungi (Ngidi), Nandre (Burger), Lizaad (Williams) and Kwena (Maphaka) and they are just the out and out strikers,” explained Walter.

“Then you have the allrounders in the background as well as our spin options. So I feel our bases are fully covered and that we have more than enough wicket taking options, with plenty of guys who are proven wicket takers.

“I don’t think the challenge will be any easier. They have put out a really strong squad which is awesome and how we want it to be. It is going to be a stiff challenge and the guys coming in will be looking to prove themselves I am sure.”

Walter admitted that the Proteas would be going all out to win the series, while the players that were involved in the previous series would be looking to improve, while the new guys involved would be bringing plenty of energy and excitement to the table.

Series win

“First and foremost we want to win the series. At a micro level we want to improve on our last performance (on tour) here. We have a few guys who were on that tour with us, so to take the learnings from that tour and try to be better,” said Walter.

“For the guys that are coming in, some of them are getting their first taste of international cricket, and that in itself is a win. So there are a number of things we want to achieve.

“But nothing changes, when we take the field winning a game for South Africa is foremost. Playing our best cricket and continuing to follow our blueprint and embed it even more so people understand what is expected when they get a chance is also very important for us.”

Despite the disappointment of losing to India in the final of the T20 World Cup in the West Indies in June, Walter says that the team has gotten over that and that there is a positive vibe in the squad ahead of the series.

“It is always great to get back together. Obviously some of these chaps were in the T20 World Cup squad, so they have all fully acclimated to the Caribbean time zones and lifestyle,” said Walter.

“But for the group that has come in, there are a number of younger guys who haven’t played that much for South Africa and those guys are excited and raring to go. They bring in a lot of energy and there is nothing but good vibes in the squad.”