Benoni [South Africa]: South Africa assistant coach Salieg Nackerdien said he wants a “360-degree turn around” from the team in the fourth match of the five-match T20I series against Pakistan.
The encounter serves as an opportunity for South Africa to level the bilateral series following their four-wicket loss in the third match, which saw the touring side take a 2-1 lead.
Having come back from losing the opening match, Nackerdien said the team needs to channel their belief in order to do the same in the fourth clash.
“We just have to back ourselves. That belief system for me is very important. If you don’t have that belief system and can’t manage a loss, then we are going to be in trouble. We need to make sure we do that 360-degree turn around again, to get us back into the series and try to win the series. The main purpose for tomorrow is to win the game and do it properly,” the coach said in a statement.
In the third match, South Africa posted their highest total of the series, recording 138/3 thanks to a stunning contribution of 70 not out off 61 balls from opener Tazmin Brits, and Nadine de Klerk’s tidy knock of 36 from 35 balls.
Nackerdien was pleased with what he saw in the third T20I but highlighted a few other areas that can be improved on, saying: “We have to keep the momentum from the last game. Partnerships are going to be key up front and we obviously want to utilize the Power Play better. We were a bit stuck in that Power Play because we lost early wickets, but we recovered nicely in terms of getting a competitive score.”
“Now it is all about basics and we need to make sure we do our running between the wickets a bit better, rotation of strike and the partnership column can be better too. If we can get another partnership of 70 or 80 or maybe even a 100 that will give us good momentum in the game, but we still need to apply the basics.” he continued.
Moreover, Nackerdien challenged his team to improve their intensity in the field and linked that to the bowlers’ plans with their areas as well as setting their individual field placing.
“The intensity needs to be spot on for 20 overs and we need to make sure we apply ourselves properly and be on top of the game, all the time. You have to enjoy fielding otherwise the game can slip away from you very quickly. Our line and lengths are important. We were bowling too much on both sides of the wicket and our field placing was also not up to scratch and then the execution of it.”
“You can’t bowl both sides of the wicket and defend both sides, all the time. We must make sure we hit our sweepers where we need them to hit us but not where they want to hit us. So, it is important for all our bowlers to have their game plans and skills in order tomorrow and execute properly,” Nackerdien concluded.
South Africa will take on Pakistan in the fourth match on May 22 at Willowmoore Park.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]