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Worcester - Proteas vice-captain, AB de Villiers, is pleased with the preparation the squad received during their two-day warm-up match against Worcestershire County Cricket Club here.
The result of the match was academic, as the players worked on their individual processes. The two day game ended in a draw with South Africa on 67 for four in their second innings on Saturday - this after Worcestershire scored 245 in response to the Proteas' 237 for nine declared in the first innings.
“It was a little bit disjointed but individually the guys got out of it what they wanted to, it was great preparation for Headingley,” De Villiers said.
“The guys that didn’t bat in the previous Test got a chance to get out there and bat a bit, the bowlers got a nice run.”
De Villiers scored 80 in the match, and stressed the value of spending time out in the middle during the low-key tour matches.
“I try and keep it really simple,” he commented when asked about his approach to the tour matches. “I like to make sure that I cover the basics and stick to my game plans. It is really important to stick with my game plan and to try and spend time out there. It’s important for me when going into a Test match to cover my basics and then I can just play the situation like I normally do."
The squad travels to Leeds on Sunday, and will meet up with captain Graeme Smith who returned to SA last week for the birth of his first child, as preparations step up ahead of the second Test starting at Headingley in five days.
“We know they (England) are going to come out harder,” De Villiers remarked about an England backlash. “We sometimes put too much emphasis on it, it’s a matter of just going out and playing the same kind of cricket that we played in the first Test match.”
The result of the match was academic, as the players worked on their individual processes. The two day game ended in a draw with South Africa on 67 for four in their second innings on Saturday - this after Worcestershire scored 245 in response to the Proteas' 237 for nine declared in the first innings.
“It was a little bit disjointed but individually the guys got out of it what they wanted to, it was great preparation for Headingley,” De Villiers said.
“The guys that didn’t bat in the previous Test got a chance to get out there and bat a bit, the bowlers got a nice run.”
De Villiers scored 80 in the match, and stressed the value of spending time out in the middle during the low-key tour matches.
“I try and keep it really simple,” he commented when asked about his approach to the tour matches. “I like to make sure that I cover the basics and stick to my game plans. It is really important to stick with my game plan and to try and spend time out there. It’s important for me when going into a Test match to cover my basics and then I can just play the situation like I normally do."
The squad travels to Leeds on Sunday, and will meet up with captain Graeme Smith who returned to SA last week for the birth of his first child, as preparations step up ahead of the second Test starting at Headingley in five days.
“We know they (England) are going to come out harder,” De Villiers remarked about an England backlash. “We sometimes put too much emphasis on it, it’s a matter of just going out and playing the same kind of cricket that we played in the first Test match.”
