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- Proteas captain Quinton de Kock says his team hasn’t needed a sixth pitcher in their T20 series against England.
- The Proteas are 2-0 down in the series heading into the Newlands final on Tuesday night.
- Allrounders Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo have not been available for the entire series.
One of the main Proteas The talking points during his current T20 series against England has been the absence of a specialized off-roader and, by extension, a sixth bowling option.
The South Africans have already lost the series and are 2-0 down heading into Tuesday’s final, and in the first two matches the hosts launched a three-fast, two-spinning bowling attack.
With Dwaine Pretorius injured shortly before the start of the series and Andile Phehlukwayo still in quarantine, De Kock’s options in terms of team selection have been limited.
In the first T20 at Newlands last week, the captain threw the ball to batter Heinrich Klaasen, who pitched to Ben Stokes and went for 14 in an over that changed the momentum of the game.
At Paarl on Sunday, De Kock was left with just five as Lungi Ngidi (2/51 in 4) proved to be the most expensive in what was a largely valiant effort to defend a modest 146.
Addressing the media Monday from the team’s biobubble at the Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town, De Kock showed a frustrated figure when answering questions from the press.
“Obviously it’s disappointing to lose,” De Kock said.
“But I don’t think we will change too much for tomorrow. We will continue to play with the best team we have and try to win.”
“We want to give the guys opportunities, but I think we need to win just for our own good.”
When asked about the absence of an SUV and the sixth bowler’s dilemma, De Kock made no excuses.
“We don’t really have the options that we would like, but it is what it is and we just have to deal with what we have, move on and hope for the best,” he said.
“It’s unfortunate that Duane got injured at the wrong time and obviously Andy (Phehlukwayo) is in quarantine.
“I know everyone is talking about this sixth bowler, but when you look at it, we really didn’t need one. I know it’s nice to get another one from somewhere, but in both games it was only one that did the damage against us.” .
De Kock further confirmed that David Miller would also not be available for the third T20, but that both he and Phehlukwayo should be ready for the three-game ODI series that begins against England in Newlands on Friday.
“It would be nice to have a guy like Miller at the end to come in and finish innings, but we have other guys that can do it,” De Kock said.
“We’ve all seen what Klaasen can do, we have Rassie (Van der Dussen), George … obviously we miss Miller, but it doesn’t mean that others can’t do it.”
De Kock was also aware of the impact of the Proteas not playing together for more than nine months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Patience is key right now,” he said.
“The team has not played cricket together and this is our first comeback series. When we start to play more cricket together and spend more time together as a team, I think the results will start to show.”
Tuesday’s game starts at 6:00 p.m.
