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Cape Town - Former South African cricket captain Kepler Wessels has expressed his concern ahead of the Proteas’ upcoming series against Sri Lanka.
It is widely considered that the Sri Lankans will not pose much of a threat to Gary Kirsten’s men in South Africa, as their best result to date has been a rain-affected draw in Durban 11 years ago.
VIDEO: Kepler Wessels on Mickey Arthur's appointment as Australia's new coach
However, Wessels has come out to further fuel the notion that it is well within the Proteas capabilities to whitewash the hapless Sri Lankans, so much so, that he thinks it is an ideal time for Kirsten to experiment.
“If ever there was a time to make changes, now is the time. The selectors have some serious things to think about. We are playing Sri Lanka … have you seen Sri Lanka play recently? They have two batsmen, Mahela (Jayawardene) and Kumar (Sangakkara). We could beat them with our SA 'A' side,” Wessels said in the Cape Times newspaper.
Wessels explained that the nature in which the Proteas approached the recent series against Australia was a little reckless and that a more cautious approach may have allowed them to be more clinical.
“(Jacques) Rudolph was over-adventurous, but from a team perspective, it is obviously a problem. There is nothing wrong with having a positive approach, but there has to be a certain amount of caution. Hit the bad balls, but keep the good balls out. It’s simple. All of them are perfectly capable, so it’s not technical. It’s an individual mindset that hast to be rectified. The approach and the discipline of building a big first innings of 450-500 has to be of the utmost importance.”
It is widely considered that the Sri Lankans will not pose much of a threat to Gary Kirsten’s men in South Africa, as their best result to date has been a rain-affected draw in Durban 11 years ago.
VIDEO: Kepler Wessels on Mickey Arthur's appointment as Australia's new coach
However, Wessels has come out to further fuel the notion that it is well within the Proteas capabilities to whitewash the hapless Sri Lankans, so much so, that he thinks it is an ideal time for Kirsten to experiment.
“If ever there was a time to make changes, now is the time. The selectors have some serious things to think about. We are playing Sri Lanka … have you seen Sri Lanka play recently? They have two batsmen, Mahela (Jayawardene) and Kumar (Sangakkara). We could beat them with our SA 'A' side,” Wessels said in the Cape Times newspaper.
Wessels explained that the nature in which the Proteas approached the recent series against Australia was a little reckless and that a more cautious approach may have allowed them to be more clinical.
“(Jacques) Rudolph was over-adventurous, but from a team perspective, it is obviously a problem. There is nothing wrong with having a positive approach, but there has to be a certain amount of caution. Hit the bad balls, but keep the good balls out. It’s simple. All of them are perfectly capable, so it’s not technical. It’s an individual mindset that hast to be rectified. The approach and the discipline of building a big first innings of 450-500 has to be of the utmost importance.”
