Paceman Anrich Nortje says bowling more yorkers will be key in swaying the ongoing T20I series against the West Indies in the Proteas’ favour.

South Africa beat the West Indies by 16 runs this past Sunday to level the five-match series 1-1, having restricted the hosts to 150-9 in 20 overs. Nortje was the most economical of the pace attack, taking 1-27 in his four overs.

And, he says he is working harder to execute more yorkers as he is eager to get wickets early.

“We haven’t had a lot of time to do our skills, to nail yorkers and bowl slower balls – it’s not something you train for with the red ball. We only had two training sessions so, hopefully, with a fresh mind we can put a good performance in,” he said.

“I’ve been putting in a lot of effort to try and execute some yorkers. I’m quite happy with my yorkers in the last two games, but I would still like to strike early.”

“They’ve [West Indies] got gun batters, they go quite hard, so on the day you have to see how they take things. It’s just about adapting to how they go and what you can and can’t bowl,” he said.

“You’ve got to try and stay one step ahead, but it’s nice playing against them, it’s a good challenge. Most of the time, they go hard. It’s good to be in those situations and once you’ve come out on top [it] gives you a lot of confidence going forward.”

“It’s exciting. A couple of years ago I was looking at the guys and now I’m playing with them, it’s nice. We all love the challenge and embrace it so it’s nice working with them,” said Nortje.

© Agence France-Presse

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