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Behardien lauds Proteas set-up

Centurion - Proteas batsman Farhaan Behardien has credited his attacking approach to his role as a finisher in the ODI team to the backing from the management group.

Behardien has put in two telling performances with the bat for the Proteas and the Titans in the last week, and has given promising signs of the game-changing influence he can bring.

“Gary and the rest of the management have created an environment where the players are backed and you are allowed to execute your skills even if it doesn’t come off all the time, and to be honest it won’t come off all the time,” he said on Wednesday.

VIDEO: SA v Pakistan, 1st ODI highlights

“We have the backing of the management, the players and the captain so that gives us the freedom to play that well.”

Behardien has played 10 T20 internationals and three ODIs since making his debut for South Africa in a one-off T20 against India in 2012, and barring Sunday’s performance, had yet to convincingly convert his domestic success to the international stage.

Despite the external pressures and the limited ICC Champions Trophy places in the squad, the 29-year-old has remained confident from the backing from his peers.

His unbeaten 34 off 14 balls in the Proteas 125-run victory against Pakistan in Bloemfontein was followed by 68 not out off 40 balls for the Titans in a T20 game against the Cobras on Tuesday, with both innings scored in an unusually attacking fashion - a sign of where the Proteas’ limited-over squad is headed.

“The philosophy in the national side is that we want to take the game forward, in T20 and ODI cricket,” he said of his attacking play.

“In the past we have been slightly conservative so we have 20 ODI’s this year to try and establish a one-day and T20 culture, something different and our own identity, being attacking is one of those philosophies.”

South Africa take on Pakistan in the second ODI of the five-match series in Centurion on Friday.
 
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