Rabada eyes 300, says Proteas not counting on history against Windies

Historical records will count for little when the Proteas cross the rope to battle the West Indies in the Caribbean next week, according to fast bowler Kagiso Rabada.

The sides clash in a two-match Test series starting on August 7 with the visitors contesting a warm-up four-day match against a WI Championship XI starting on Wednesday.

The Proteas have a formidable record against the Windies, having won 22 Tests while losing just three alongside seven drawn results in 32 encounters. South Africa have played 15 Tests in the Caribbean, winning eight and losing only two.

Speaking about their return to the Test arena, the right-arm quick bowler said he was looking forward to getting stuck into what promises to be a testing tour. 

Having competed in 10 bilateral series since readmission, South Africa have emerged overall winners on nine occasions, with the Windies’ solitary win coming in the first series the sides contested post-isolation in 1991-92.

“When you’ve played well against a certain team, you generally have an idea of how to beat them,” Rabada said.

“Psychologically it can relieve a bit of pressure but once you step onto the field, you have to zone all of that out. You cannot take it for granted. Anything can happen in cricket and if you take it for granted you will be shown up. 

“It is about rocking up and to keep striving to play our best game, regardless of what has happened in the past because when you step over that line, none of it matters — it’s about what happens between the boundary ropes.”

The West Indies are coming off the back of a 3-0 Test series drubbing at the hands of England, but Rabada feels they are still a stern test of the Proteas' red ball credentials, particularly in their own backyard.

“They have been playing cricket, which we cannot do anything about, but we know the challenge that lies ahead of us. We have to make the most of what we have in front of us. We do believe we can beat them, and it is going to be a tough series.

“It is a bit of a concern having not played much red ball cricket [in the last few months] but we’ve got the four-day game coming up, [and] we believe we can adapt and be ready in time.”

Rabada is only nine scalps away from becoming the sixth Proteas Test bowler to reach the 300-wicket milestone. “It will be such a special landmark, but I’m not focused too much on that yet, it will just be a by-product.

“My focus is on making sure I can find ways to put up performances, which means helping the team to move in the right direction, which would mean I am doing my part. Those are the aspects I’m most focused on, as opposed to how I will take nine wickets. It will happen in due time? I don’t think it would be of any benefit for me to think about it too much, because it could take the focus away from getting the job done.”

Gerald Coetzee was withdrawn from the squad through injury, Marco Jansen is being rested and with Anrich Nortjé not being centrally contracted with the national side, skipper Temba Bavuma said last week he was confident they have enough ammunition to cause the Windies serious problems.

Bavuma will make use of pacemen Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dane Paterson, Nandre Burger, Migael Pretorius and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder, plus spinners Keshav Maharaj and Dane Piedt. 

As a member of the T20 side who made their debut in a final in the ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the US last month, Rabada said the intel acquired in that tournament was invaluable in helping the bowling party understand the conditions to expect.