Gqeberha - The Proteas followed up their one-point penalty during the third One-Day International against England last month with another concerning slow over-rate this past weekend at Buffalo Park.
The West Indies series is not part of the ICC ODI Super League because the West Indies have already played all their league fixtures. This meant South Africa had, and still have, one more opportunity to rectify many things going into the all-important Netherlands series.
Rob Walter clearly demonstrated his intention to use this opportunity in his squad selections when he rested his senior players for the first two ODI’s in East London. This was to gauge the depth in the team and to test the readiness of the youngsters ahead of what is a big year for the format.
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Arguably the biggest priority for Temba Bavuma and his men was not to lose any more points to slow over-rate. They lost one crucial point in the third match against England last month and all the players were fined 20 percent of their match fee as a result of a slow over-rate.
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Disappointingly, the Proteas were once again caught behind the ICC’s required over-rate during the second ODI against the West Indies at Buffalo Park in East London. This was the first time South Africa played in the format after the disappointment against England in Kimberly but they repeated the same mistake.
This was especially disappointing as South Africa had two spinners in their attack in East London. Ideally, spinners help a team go through their overs quickly, but somehow the Proteas were behind once again at some point in the match.
This over-rate issue is especially critical with the Netherlands series looming and it needs to be solved before the series starts in two weeks time.
The Proteas have all to do today in Potchefstroom as the match referee will be keeping a close-eye on the two team’s ability to bowl all their overs in the allotted time.
@imongamagcwabe