by Abhai Sawkar The Proteas have successfully completed a 2-0 Test series whitewash in the Caribbean against a West Indies side whose batting struggled over the course of both games. Now that the dust has settled on this series, it’s time to shift the focus to the T20I series, which starts later today. It’s a drastic change in scenario, since the home side have a strong reputation as world beaters, and have named a star-studded squad to take on the visitors. In comparison, South Africa seems to have covered all bases with their T20I squad, but appear to be the underdogs on paper. Today’s interviewee is Mpho Moreki, one of my good friends and a frequent co-contributor on the Cricket Fanatics Magazine live shows. Abhai: First of all, thanks a lot for your time. It's nice to see the Proteas secure a clean away series win. Can we start off with your reaction to the Proteas performance with the ball? Mpho: To start things off, our effort with the ball was superb. They started off well, which they have struggled to do before, and then were consistent across all bowling innings with aggression and pace. The Dukes ball helped a lot and the swing added a new facet to the pacers that gave them an advantage. This pace attack will be world class and they showed it this series. Abhai: I really hope so, too. Now let’s switch gears to the batting. We've had two new guys debut this series. Looking at the batting, what do you feel strikes you as the biggest flaw in the top order and how do you think that can be rectified in the near future? Mpho: The biggest flaw has always been adjustments to the pitch, bowling and state of the game. It feels like the batsmen try and bat to the team plan but not what they see and experience on the field and adjust targets accordingly. That must improve against better teams because South Africa crossed 300 exactly once in this series, and that’s been a problem for them and is just the bare minimum for teams batting at this level. Abhai: It’s evident that there’s lots of room for improvement. I know I asked everyone this during the preview show, but what are your standards and expectations for a new batsman in Test cricket? And generally speaking, what's a good rule of thumb as far as game time is concerned, with regards to determining whether that player is/isn't good enough for Test cricket? Mpho: Well, my rule of thumb is 2 series. 5, maybe 6 games for you to see whether a player can cut it. But it’s dependent on both the player and the needs of the team. Abhai: Fair assessment - I guess it varies from player to player, since some adjust to the demands of Test cricket faster than others. But nonetheless, it’s very refreshing to see the Proteas score an excellent away series win. What would you say is key to sustaining consistency over a longer period of time when it comes to batting in Tests? Mpho: This team needs to learn how to play different situations when batting. The ball changes, Bowling changes and conditions change throughout the day and batsmen must adjust accordingly to not give the advantage to the bowling side. What’s happening right now is they decide on a strategy and most of them follow it without taking into account the nuances of the conditions they meet in the middle. It comes with time and winning games but that’s how smart cricket is played: thinking in the middle and adapting. Abhai: That’s true, and it’ll take time for the approach to evolve for the better. Then again, we have a pretty daunting new WTC cycle coming up, but that can be a discussion for another day. Over to the T20Is, the hosts have a super stacked squad. What do you feel the Proteas can do better in this upcoming T20I series compared to previous series? Mpho: They need to be better on both ends especially against a team who are favourites to win the world cup. Now we’ll be able to see how good this team is and we can adjust our expectations accordingly. I want to see the final XI to start at the World Cup and play at a minimum of three games. Abhai: Do you prefer Bavuma opening alongside de Kock or Bavuma at #3? And justify. Personally, he’d be a good fit at first drop, with Markram opening in this series. Markram’s able to get off to a fast start, and we saw that in the recent home series against Pakistan. Similar to how the Blackcaps open with Guptill and have Williamson coming in at one down, it’s a similar thought process over here. Mpho: Bavuma at #3 will be ideal for the balance of the side going to the World Cup. Faf should open with Quinton in the subcontinent, as they do so for their IPL teams. Temba bats well as the accumulator or anchor of the innings, rotating the strike in the middle overs like he did for the Lions in the T20 Challenge. Abhai: Speaking of Bavuma, this is officially the first series where he’s in charge of the side. For those that aren't aware, can we get some background info and reasoning behind his nomination, what makes him a good leader, and what you expect from him in this series? Mpho: Temba is a great locker room guy. A natural leader and that was evident early on in his International career. He has captained his franchise to multiple honours over the past 4 years including scoring a match winning century in the 2019 T20 Challenge Final for the Lions. The most important thing is the players respond to his leadership. As a leader he is a hard man but allows the guys to take responsibility for their roles by bringing forth ideas and supporting them. He is also a big on encouragement and he will be doing that at mid-off. He’s a vocal leader and just the guy South Africa needs at this time. Abhai: Honestly, it’s so nice to see a different dimension to his game in the shorter formats. He can score quickly as well as hit the boundaries regularly. I’m hoping that South Africa can finally regain their mojo under his leadership, and they’re definitely able to do so. Before we wrap it up, who’s in your starting XI for the first game? Mpho: Here’s my playing XI: Aiden Markram Quinton de Kock (wk) Temba Bavuma (c) Rassie van der Dussen David Miller George Linde Wiaan Mulder Andile Phehlukwayo Kagiso Rabada Lungi Ngidi Tabraiz Shamsi
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