Stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj says the Proteas’ three-match ODI series in England provides them with an opportunity to do “something special”.
South Africa have had mixed success in the 50-over format recently. They lost a three-match away series to Sri Lanka 2-1 last September and whitewashed India 3-0 at home earlier this year only to suffer a first home series defeat by Bangladesh (2-1).
“We haven’t done well in the ODI format, but we’ve tried various formats and combinations, so hopefully we’ve found that rhythm to our game now and can start off on a positive note in this England series,” said Maharaj, who is leading the Proteas in the absence of the injured Temba Bavuma.
“England are coming off quite a bit of cricket and they’re a much more settled team. But having put in the hard work over the past 12 months, I think it’s about time we see some good results in this series and moving forward.
“The boys are really excited, it’s been a while since we’ve played our last ODI game [against Bangladesh in Centurion in March] and it’s been a lengthy buildup to the game, so the boys are ready to get on to the park.”
The Proteas have also not done well in limited-overs cricket in England but Maharaj is hopeful of changing that.
“It does present an opportunity to do something special. We’ve come a long way as a team and as a unit. So, it is an opportunity to create history, but we’ll take it one ball at a time and hopefully achieve something really big as an ODI unit.”
Maharaj confirmed that Quinton de Kock, who missed the Proteas’ two warm-up matches against the England Lions as an injury precaution, is fit and available for the first ODI at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on Tuesday (2pm SA time).
