Written by Khunulogo Mpolokeng
Former Proteas all-rounder Lance Klusener does not think that being confined in their homes due to the ongoing national lockdown will have a negative effect on the Proteas come the T20 World Cup that will be held in Australia in October and November. The senior men’s national team has not played a competitive match in weeks after their tour to India was cut short earlier this month due to the coronavirus pandemic. They were scheduled to play against the Men in Blue in a three-match One-Day International (ODI) series, which would have given them just the right kind of intensity that’s needed in a World Cup year, given that India are ranked second in the ICC World ODI rankings.
But be that as it may, the Proteas is, of course, not the only team that will be at the tournament that can’t get their preparations going right now, because international cricket all around the world has been brought to a halt. Klusener, who is also known as ‘Zulu’ because of his fluency in speaking the language, says mental, and not physical preparation, is what will matter most at the quadrennial event. “At the highest level, most of your preparation is mental preparation. I don’t think it’s about doing volumes of work, I think it’s about being mentally prepared for what you’re gonna face.
“I think there are a lot of other, not just teams but I guess individuals as well, that will go into future competitions a little bit under-prepared, but I think everybody will be in the same boat: those that are mentally prepared or [those who will] use this time wisely in terms of getting mentally prepared, might just have an extra step forward.”
Klusener also says he doesn’t believe that the current Proteas team is ready to win a major international tournament such as the upcoming World Cup, notwithstanding the fact that they have done well in recent limited overs series with a new-look squad that has a number of players with limited international experience. The 47-year does agree that the recent three-match ODI series win against Australia in particular – which the Proteas won 3-0 – was impressive and unexpected, but says Mark Boucher’s side might just come short against other teams in the 16-team tournament.
“I think it’s gonna be a difficult one, you know, but you know, the shorter the game – like T20s – it kind of levels out teams, so that counts in our favour. In my opinion they will need to surprise a lot of us to win that competition; however, they probably still got a decent shout, but there’s some good T20 teams out there [that] got settled teams, got settled patterns of play.
“But again, they (SA) should just be aiming to get into the playoffs and then you never know what goes on there, what can happen from a playoff situation. For me, it wouldn’t be a team that I would say definitely they would be playing in a final … it’s not gonna be easy.”
● Cover image: thefederal.com.
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