The Proteas lost to New Zealand in their second game of the current Tri-Series in Harare that includes the hosts. After beating Zimbabwe by five wickets on Monday, 14 July, they suffered a 21 run loss to the Black Caps in their second game on Wednesday, 16 July.
Four first time call-ups for the series get make their debuts
Head coach Shukri Conrad named a 14-player squad that featured four maiden T20I call-up, Momentum Multiply Titans duo Corbin Bosch and Lhuan-dré Pretorius, North West Dragons batter Rubin Hermann and Dafabet Warriors spinner Senuran Muthusamy.
Bosch, Pretorius and Hermann made their debuts in the first game with Pretorius getting a duck, Hermann 45 and Bosch 23 not out. Muthusamy got his chance to debut against New Zealand with a wicket and seven runs.
Prince – People need to be patient with the youngsters
The Proteas will have a couple of days off before their next game on Sunday. Speaking at the post match press conference after the defeat to New Zealand, Proteas batting coach said it’s nice to have a couple of days off and people need to have patience with the youngsters.
No, it’s nice to have a couple of days off, obviously for some of the people who’ve been here since the test matches, it’s been a while. So to have some time off, I think we’ll make the most of that and then we get back going again in the next training session.
Speaking about the youngsters, Prince added:
At the end of the day you know they’ve come into international cricket both Brevis, Lhuan-dré, Kwena Maphaka. These guys are really talented youngsters but at the end of the day, I think you have to be mindful of the fact that they come into the biggest stage of the world at 18 and 19 years old so people sometimes just need to have a little bit of patience with these guys, they vastly talented players but we know, we fully confident in their abilities and we trust them to go out there and do their thing.
Conrad - T20 series start of prep for T20 World Cup
The tri-series marks Conrad’s first T20I assignment since being appointed as the senior men’s all-format head coach. Commenting on the selection of the squad ahead of the series, Conrad said:
This T20I tri-series marks the start of our preparation for next year’s T20 World Cup. With several senior players rested as part of their workload management, it creates space for these players to step in and show what they can offer, and bring them into contention for World Cup selection.
Lhuan-dré and Rubin have been rewarded for their outstanding domestic form in the SA20 and we’re excited to see how they adapt to the demands of international cricket. We know what Corbin has to offer at this level and we are keen to see how his Test and ODI skills will translate to the T20I arena.
Having three quality spin options gives us a great deal of variety, especially in conditions like Harare. Senuran has been impressive in the domestic setup and his ability to contribute with the bat adds great balance to the squad. Rassie has led the side before and brings experience to the role, while providing valuable support to the younger players on this tour.
Squad - T20I Tri-series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand
Rassie van der Dussen (captain, DP World Lions), Corbin Bosch (Momentum Multiply Titans), Dewald Brevis (Momentum Multiply Titans), Nandre Burger (World Sports Betting Western Province), Gerald Coetzee (Momentum Multiply Titans), Reeza Hendricks (DP World Lions), Rubin Hermann (North- West Dragons), George Linde (World Sports Betting Western Province), Kwena Maphaka (DP World Lions), Senuran Muthusamy (Dafabet Warriors), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Nqaba Peter (DP World Lions), Lhuan-dré Pretorius (Momentum Multiply Titans) and Andile Simelane (Hollywoodbets Dolphins).
Fixtures
- Monday, 14 July - Zimbabwe vs South Africa – Harare Sports Club;
- Wednesday, 16 July - South Africa vs New Zealand – Harare Sports Club;
- Friday, 18 July - Zimbabwe vs New Zealand – Harare Sports Club;
- Sunday, 20 July - Zimbabwe vs South Africa – Harare Sports Club;
- Tuesday, 22 July - New Zealand vs South Africa – Harare Sports Club;
- Thursday, 24 July - Zimbabwe vs New Zealand – Harare Sports Club;
- Saturday, 26 July - Number 1 vs Number 2 – Harare Sports Club
