Cricket

'SA can win World Twenty20'

2009-05-04 22:35
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Proteas set for World T20 (Gallo)
Altus Momberg - Die Burger

Cape Town – The Proteas have a squad that can win the ICC World Twenty20 in England irrespective of the conditions.

Proteas coach Mickey Arthur was delighted on Monday with the squad of 15 players announced.

“I have confidence in the squad. If the conditions are going to assist pace and swing bowlers, we have the players to perform well. But if the sun shines and the pitch assists spinners, we can also be successful,” said Arthur.

“We will be led by the conditions in terms of the team we select and tactics we adopt.”

The Twenty20 tournament starts on Friday, June 5, when England and the Netherlands meet at Lord’s. South Africa start their campaign against Scotland at the Oval two days later.

There were not many surprises in the squad of 15 that was announced. As expected, Jacques Kallis is back in the squad, while Morne Morkel is also going to England.

Wayne Parnell and Yusuf Abdulla were picked ahead of him ahead of  Makhaya Ntini, indicating that the  experienced seamer's Twenty20 career could be coming to an end.

The selectors had to decide between Morkel and Johann Louw of the Dolphins. Louw has the ability to force the pace with the bat, but Morkel’s ability with the ball got him the edge.

It is, however, the three spinners - Johan Botha, Roelof van der Merwe and Robin Pietersen – that gives Arthur options.

South Africa has been renowned for its pacemen for years, but the spin-bowling was one of the major factors in the recent one-day series wins over Australia. Arthur expects them to play a big role in the Twenty20 tournament.

“They slow the pace in the middle overs. Where batsmen can deflect the pace bowlers’ deliveries for boundaries by using the pace of the ball, they have to adapt to the spinners. If you don’t manage that, you lose your wicket,” said Arthur.

“I have confidence in the spinners and if the conditions allow, we can even use four of them.”

Arthur is confident his squad will adapt to the conditions and does not believe much should be read into last year’s struggles in the one-day series against England. The Proteas lost the series 0-4.

“It was at the end of a long tour. England got momentum and we could not establish a foothold in the series,” he said.

“The fact that we played for more than two months in England last year will definitely help us. We know what to expect and all our players have experienced the conditions,” said Arthur.

There is still some doubt about Botha’s availability. His bowling action was tested in Perth last week and the result is expected by the end of next week.

If he fails the test, he is likely to be replaced by Louw.

 

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