Fast bowler Dale Steyn has outlined the improvement the Proteas need to implement during Sunday’s second T20I against Australia at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth.
The hosts lost Friday’s series opener at the Wanderers in Johannesburg by 107 runs, after Australian spinner Ashton Agar completed a five-for, including a hat-trick.
The Aussies amassed 196-6 and later limited the Proteas to a mere 89 all out to take an early lead in the three-match series.
‘You are allowed to have a blow-out. We played some good cricket against England. It was one of the better series that I’ve played against England, even though we lost. We batted superbly and we bowled in patches really well. We don’t have to be too hard on ourselves,’ said Steyn.
‘This team is going to be learning. I hope our growth will be upwards. Even though we are losing, the process that Mark Boucher and Quinton de Kock have put in place is the right one.
‘We’ve got to start learning a little more from the mistakes we made against England. We carried it into Australia. In the first six overs, we were a little bit too wide. We’ve got to adapt a little bit faster.’
South Africa didn’t have fast bowler Kagiso Rabada for the 2-1 T20I series defeat by England earlier this year. He was rested for that series and three ODIs against the same opposition, but has since returned.
‘It’s lovely to have Kagiso back with the ball. I know he went for a couple of runs but he hasn’t been around, so he is probably feeling ring rust. And the younger bowlers like Lungi Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo look up to someone like him, big time,’ added Steyn.
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