Execution with ball again in spotlight as Proteas prepare for Australia

Whether the Proteas’ good fortune can continue in Lucknow will be determined by striking a balance between leaving behind what happened in Delhi and using the confidence from that win against Sri Lanka to their advantage for the remainder of the World Cup. 

Australia, a familiar foe, are next on South Africa’s schedule at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Thursday. The teams met recently, with the Proteas battling back from 2-0 down to win that five-match series on home soil. 

While all the Proteas squad played some part in those five matches, Australia are much changed. The South Africans are wary of the strength and experience Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Steve Smith add to the men from Down Under, and having lost their opening match to India, there is sure to be an urgency to their approach. 

Not that South Africa are paying that too much heed at this point.

“They will come out firing. They will come harder,” said Proteas batting coach JP Duminy. 

“Our response to that is to stay in our bubble. It’s not about fighting fire with fire. Whatever is thrown at us, we must be able to look each other in the eye and say, 'I am going to do this for my mate'.”

It’s a stronger attack than the one the Proteas faced in the recent series, but a compartmentalised approach is something Duminy hopes will serve the South Africans well. 

“In a tournament like this we will be faced with different conditions pretty much every game. 

“Conditions will determine the nature of the threat: will the ball swing, the amount of bounce and carry. These are things we will have to assess early and ultimately that is going to influence the options we take.”

There isn’t much in terms of data to look into at the Lucknow venue, though the Proteas were involved in the last ODI played there, in October 2022, when they beat India by nine runs in a rain-shortened match. Heinrich Klaasen (74*) and David Miller (75*) shared a partnership of 139 off only 106 balls on that occasion. 

That duo’s confidence, as with the rest of the batters, is high after the first match.

“You want to really affirm the things we did well,” Duminy said.

“Our mindsets and intent were spot on, the options were really good.

“Maybe we can look at conversations around doing something different or adding something to a partnership.”

On paper Australia’s attack certainly looks better than Sri Lanka’s and is suited to taking wickets.

“Each one [of Australia’s bowlers] pose different threats, but it's our communication and understanding of options and then ultimately we will judge ourselves on our execution.” 

Though more good than bad emerged from the victory over Sri Lanka, the Proteas did feel they let themselves down with the ball. 

The bowling in the opening 10-over Power Play, which had been a problem in the series against Australia, left much to be desired with 94 runs conceded against the Sri Lankans in that period. 

“The positive out of the first game was that there were really clear game plans, and we are reflecting on the execution,” Duminy said about the bowling.

It is concerning the execution remains lax, because it was that same area that was problematic in the homes series against the Australians.

David Warner and Co will be acutely aware of the pressure they exerted when the teams met in South Africa, and in seeking to get themselves on the front foot after their opening defeat to the host nation, it is an area they will certainly aim to get lucky in on Thursday.