South Africa’s three-match T20 International series against the West Indies, which begins on Friday and concludes on Tuesday at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, may not count towards qualification for a World Cup or even as a warm-up for an imminent World Cup, but that does not mean they aren’t important.
“That would be a fairly narrow view of these fixtures, we’re only 18 months away from the 2026 World Cup in India in 2026 and we’ve got nine series between now and then,” said head coach, Rob Walter, from Trinidad on Wednesday.
“So, for me, these games are massive – does it create ‘freedom’ for the guys to play? I don’t know but when you pull on the green and gold you have a responsibility to represent your country and I know there is a very strong desire to perform and do well. I don’t think the players see a series like this as any less important than any other,” Walter said.
“He’s a wonderfully calm guy, we’ve seen him perform domestically for the Lions and at the under-19 World Cup, and to run out and perform for the Mumbai Indians in an IPL as a schoolboy, he’s done some incredible things for a very young guy and he’s got a wonderful perspective on it all. “It’s a challenge that I’m very aware of, giving the players the best chance of success. This is just one part of doing that, as a young guy we’re just one part of his support group. In terms of media, and social media, the guys do read it and we just want to keep him grounded and aware that he’s under no time pressure, we don’t need to speed this journey up, we want to take care of him as an individual,” Walter said.There are four allrounders in the squad, including debutant Jason Smith.
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