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Kirsten back to help Proteas

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Gary Kirsten (AFP)
Gary Kirsten (AFP)

Cape Town - After their disappointing Test series loss to Australia, former coach Gary Kirsten has been drafted in as consultant to help the Proteas during the T20 series against the Aussies.

Since he quit the role as head coach of the team in May last year, Kirsten has helped out as batting consultant from time to time.

The Proteas tackle Australia in the second T20 in Durban on Wednesday. The first match in Port Elizabeth was rained out on Sunday, while the final game is scheduled for Centurion on Friday.

T20 skipper Faf du Plessis said it's great to have an experienced head like Kirsten in the camp.

"It's always good to have his cricket brain among our ranks. He understands us well and for me as captain it is wonderful to be able to listen to his ideas. He helps me an awful lot with the strategy we have to employ," Du Plessis told the Beeld
website.

"Australia are a very dangerous team in this format. Their strength is that they have big hitters (Aaron Finch and David Warner) early in the innings, while we are more dangerous towards the middle and latter part of our innings."

Rain is again a possibility for Wednesday and Friday, but the Proteas remain confident their preparation for the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh is on track.

They have the reassurance of two warm-up matches in Dhaka, before their opening match against Sri Lanka in Chittagong on March 22.

"We have two warm-up matches, one against Pakistan and the other against Bangladesh A," said Du Plessis.

"That’s great for us because it will be played in sub-continental conditions.

"I've said before that I think as a team we are ready to head to the World Cup right now in terms of the form we have, but the important part of these games against Australia is guys getting time in the middle and for the guys to get more used to the white ball."

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