The Proteas are slowly adjusting to the fact that they are without the likes of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis in their one-day side.
Proteas captain AB De Villiers says they are looking at turning around South Africa’s poor record in ODIs on Sri Lankan soil. Photo: Duif du Toit / Gallo Images
“It’s not a train smash, not having them here. We can’t depend on having them around forever, and it’s important for us to learn to play without them,” South Africa one-day captain AB de Villiers accepted during a welcoming function for the teams in Colombo.
Aside from the key batsmen, the Proteas are also without the services of premier fast bowler, Dale Steyn, who is being rested.
“We played without them (Kallis and Smith) at the Champions Trophy, and I was quite happy with our performance. We came unstuck in the semis, obviously, but I thought we played quite well,” he added.
De Villiers’s counterpart, Angelo Mathews, said Sri Lanka were looking forward to locking horns with South Africa, and they had been encouraged by their recent form, including a last-gasp loss to India in a tri-nations series in the West Indies.
“We have played some good cricket lately, but it’s obviously disappointing that we have fallen a bit short in both the Champions Trophy as well as the final against India in the West Indies. Hopefully we can have a successful series against South Africa, but they are never an easy side to beat,” Mathews said.
De Villiers said he and his team were also looking at turning South Africa’s record on Sri Lankan soil around after a dismal run, especially in limited-overs cricket. South Africa are yet to win a series on the island, and they have just one victory in their last 10 completed limited-overs clashes here.
“It’s not the best, but a lot of us haven’t played here for the Proteas before. I’ve never played a one-day game here against Sri Lanka, so it is a great challenge that we are looking forward to addressing as a team.” – IOL Sport
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