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Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada (Gallo)
- Both Protea and England have some serious pacing options on their next limited series.
- Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada were a destructive team for the Delhi capitals in the IPL.
- Proteas head coach Mark Boucher is confident his hitters will handle the threat from Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.
When the Proteas Against England in the first T20 at Newlands on November 27, one of the obvious concerns will be their level of preparation for the match.
It will be South Africa’s first international cricket since the coronavirus pandemic struck in March, and while there have been two rounds of four-day national cricket in the past two weeks, the shift to the demands of T20 cricket could take some getting used to. .
READ: Mark Boucher Opens Up On Black Lives Matter, CSA And Covid-19 Topics
England, meanwhile, were playing white ball cricket against Australia in September.
However, the good news for the Proteas is that they had some of their trump cards competing against the world’s best in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for two months, from September to early November.
Often criticized as a tournament that takes the lives of South African cricketers, this year’s IPL has been a boon for the Proteas.
White ball captain Quinton de Kock was a key component in raising the Mumbai Indians trophy, but perhaps the most encouraging performances in the IPL from a South African perspective came in the form of Kagiso rabada Y Anrich Nortje, who played together for the Delhi Capitals and lost in the final to Mumbai.
Rabada (30) and Nortje (22) collected 52 wickets between them, with the former finishing as the leader in land grabbers in the tournament.
Nortje, in particular, bowled at a dizzying pace throughout the competition, regularly ticking over 150 km / h and even throwing the fastest ball ever seen in the tournament at 156 km / h.
While there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding which is South Africa’s best 11, both in T20 and ODI format, a banker head coach Mark Boucher has this newly energized pairing of speed at his disposal.
“I haven’t really been thinking about England, but I’m very excited about our two and the fact that they have been bowling together,” Boucher said when asked about the pace that will be offered over the next few weeks. England have Jofra Archer and Mark Wood in their ranks.
READ: Boucher on the AB de Villiers situation
“Having rhythm is one thing, but you still have to put the ball in the right areas and I think both of our guys have been doing it.
“It’s a great advantage to have … to have two guys with rhythm. It’s something that we are continuously looking for in our country and our systems below the Proteas, so that the guys go through with good rhythm.
“I’m looking forward to it and I hope we can play together.”
However, Boucher stressed that he would need to manage the workload of all his players.
“We are going to have to manage that process well,” he said.
“We made the big decision to let KG (Rabada) rest a little bit before covid and then covid hit and he rested a little bit more, and I think we’ve seen the value of having a player so he’s fresh.
“It’s something we will definitely handle as we move forward.
“We can’t keep playing with these guys who shoot 150 km / h day after day. We’re not going to get the best of them if we do it that way. It will take careful planning.”
When it was further investigated that Proteas hitters had to face Archer and Wood, Boucher wasn’t overly concerned.
“Pacing is something you probably get used to, not that you always enjoy it, but you get used to it,” he said.
“If we have KG and Ana (Nortje) playing at 150 kilometers per hour, I think it is good enough preparation for whatever England throws at us.”
