T20 series against England will help South Africa in the World Championship, feels Andrew Hudson – Cricket News Update
Cricket South Africa’s selection convener, Andrew Hudson feels the upcoming three-T20I series against England will help the Proteas prepare for next month’s World T20 Championship, to be held in Sri Lanka.
The Proteas are in England these days, playing the hosts in a three-match Test series. The five-day encounters will be followed by five One Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals.
"[They] will have excellent preparation for the World Twenty20 by finishing the England tour with three [Twenty20] matches there,” said Cricket South Africa's selection convener, Andrew Hudson, at a press conference called up to announce
the national squad for global event.
“They may be playing on a different surface to that they will find in Sri Lanka, but they will be able to hone their Twenty20 specific skills," he added further.
The Cricket South Africa on Thursday announced its 15-man final squad for the marquee event. Veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis has been recalled into the squad, to be skippered by wicketkeeper batsman AB de Villiers, while Test captain
Graeme Smith failed to make a cut.
Hudson said that they have picked the best possible squad and hoped the players to live up to the hopes of selectors.
"We have had basically the same squad together for the past year and many of them also produced stand-out performances at the Indian Premier League," Hudson stated.
The 12-team mega event, in which England will be defending its title, gets underway at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota, on September 18. South Africa have been placed in Group C for the preliminary round of the marquee
tournament. The other two teams drafted in Group C include hosts Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. The Proteas will open up their World Cup campaign on September 20, by playing lowly-ranked Zimbabwe at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota.
Meanwhile, the Proteas on Wednesday replaced the current T20 champions, England as the top T20 side in the ICC rankings, after the annual update of the tables.
South Africa Squad: AB de Villiers (Capt.), Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Justin Ontong, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo
Tsotsobe.