Proteas captain Temba Bavuma is not in hazard of being dropped for the Cricket World Cup playoffs, coach Rob Walter insists, regardless of his poor run of kind on the showpiece in India.
It remained unclear whether or not Bavuma could be accessible for South Africa’s semi-final in opposition to Australia in Kolkata on Thursday after he picked up a hamstring pressure throughout their remaining group stage match in opposition to Afghanistan final week.
The skipper returned to coaching on Monday however the team’s medical employees hadn’t but decided on his availability for the crunch conflict, as the Proteas seemed to qualify for the World Cup remaining for the primary time.
“We’re just taking it daily but we’ve seen a positive progression each day which is awesome,” Walter mentioned yesterday.
“It’s a process, so yesterday (Monday) was just a step in the process of declaring him fit. He didn’t do any high-speed running, any fielding or running between wickets, so we still have to check him out in the more high-speed zones… to test whether he is ready.”
‘One of our best batters’
If he was fit to play, Walter mentioned Bavuma’s place in the team was safe, regardless of failing to ship on the high of the order on the World Cup.
In seven innings on the global spectacle, the skipper had made 145 runs at a mean of 20.71.
While he conceded no participant in the squad was “undroppable”, nonetheless, Walter felt Bavuma had cemented his spot in the playoffs after performing nicely earlier in the 12 months.
In the ten ODI matches Bavuma performed in 2023 earlier than the World Cup, he contributed 637 runs (together with three centuries) at a mean of 79.62.
“Temba hasn’t come into the conversation about being dropped because he’s been one of our best batters for the entire year,” Walter mentioned.
“So from my point of view, he hasn’t scored the runs that he would have wanted to in the World Cup, but in every training session and every game he looks like he’s close, so a good score is just around the corner for him.”
Dealing with rain
Meanwhile, with rain predicted in Kolkata on Thursday, Walter mentioned there was little they may do concerning the situations, however he was assured they may sort out no matter challenges they confronted.
“I don’t think you can prepare too much for it because it is such an inconsistent factor,” he mentioned.
“We obviously have to have our ducks in a row if the game is impacted somehow by rain, but it’s business as usual until we get closer to the time and can see how rain might impact things.”
Unbeaten hosts India will face New Zealand in the primary World Cup semi-final in Mumbai on Wednesday, beginning at 10.30am.
The winner of that match will face both South Africa or Australia in the title decider in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Source link
