OPERATION DESERT STORM The Proteas are hoping to complete a mission in the UAE that no previous team has managed before. Photos: ICC | BackpagePix | ANI By: STUART HESS
THE Proteas and World Cups have a treacherous past. Unlike the Springboks and their glorious memories, it serves merely as a teary reminder of broken dreams. But there is another opportunity on the horizon to bring joy to a nation that has suffered so much. And as usual, there will be large expectations of the Proteas in the United Arab Emirates in the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup, with the responsibility now on new captain Temba Bavuma to marshal his troops and lead them into battle in a group that includes current holders the West Indies, favourites England and Australia. “The pressure is always there, it’s my first world event. This is the only experience I have. I can’t compare it to anything else. We expect ourselves to do well as a team, and that is where the pressure comes from,” Bavuma said. Plenty of the noise that has affected previous failed World Cup attempts has hailed from outside the camp. Bavuma is happy to stay in his bubble. “I don’t want to play it too much in my head. I believe I have done all that I can to hold myself in the coming moments. I really, really don’t think I should be trying new things, or trying out a different Temba – a different
SPORT MAG VOL.2 | P14 | OCTOBER ‘21
version of myself. As I’ve always done, it is to take things day by day and trust that things will look after themselves if I do the right things,” he said. The Proteas have played very well leading up to the tournament, winning away series in the West Indies, Ireland and in Sri Lanka. A new tactical approach has been adopted, with spin now the crucial mode of attack. Bavuma is blessed to have three weapons of mass destruction at his disposal in Tabraiz Shamsi, Bjorn Fortuin and Keshav Maharaj — along with a fourth option in part-timer Aiden Markram — to exploit the dry pitches of the UAE desert. “I find it hard to see how the wickets will get better with so much traffic happening on those pitches,” said Bavuma. “If the conditions do allow us and dictate that we use our slow bowlers, we will definitely do so, like we did in Sri Lanka successfully. If the
conditions dictate so, I see no reason why we can’t employ three spinners.” Bavuma will have a chat with his mate, Siya Kolisi, who just happens to be the Bok World Cup winning captain in Japan two years ago, about his experience, although he feels “it’s a bit better sometimes when you don’t know what to expect, you allow yourselves to rely on hope or faith”. South Africans are certainly pinning their hopes on Bavuma and his troops to emerge victorious in the UAE.
“I really, really don’t think I should be trying new things, or trying out a different Temba,” Bavuma said.
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