It’s very thrilling to be heading into my first World Cup as South Africa’s captain.
It’s very particular to be given the chance to steer my nation and it will be a complete new, totally different problem for me.
For the previous yr as captain, I’ve simply needed to deal with one sequence at a time and one workforce at a time. Now, I’ve to deal with a complete bunch of various groups with each sport bringing a brand new opponent and new gamers to analyse and plan for. It’s going to be an enormous problem however I am very excited. It is such an enormous honour and privilege and one which not plenty of gamers get to expertise of their careers.
Reaching our first-ever World Cup last in 2023 was an enormous landmark second for us. It was an enormous ‘breaking the boundaries and pushing the boundaries’ second for the workforce.
Earlier than that, we might made the semi-finals on numerous events, so to have the ability to go that one step additional was essential for us as a bunch. Now we might wish to go that one step additional and raise the trophy, however something can occur in a last in T20 cricket as soon as you’ve got performed a complete competitors to get there.
It truly is nearly taking it one sport at a time and realizing behind our minds that we’ve the expertise and the power to make the ultimate with a squad that is not all too totally different from the one we had final time.
I am very excited concerning the T20 World Cup being in Dubai and Sharjah. I believe what’s fairly cool is that it is kind of impartial territory for the entire groups. A lot of the groups will probably be getting into with the identical quantity of expertise within the situations, not having performed there a lot earlier than, in order that’s fairly thrilling. It will likely be fairly attention-grabbing to see which workforce adapts one of the best to the situations and is ready to sum it up as shortly as they will.
As there isn’t any actual home-ground benefit for anybody, the workforce that is ready to determine and assess the situations one of the best has one of the best probability of success. It’s additionally going to be actually thrilling to see the crowds in attendance on the matches contemplating huge expat neighborhood within the area. I’m positive that nearly each workforce can have an excellent variety of followers popping out to assist them, which is an thrilling prospect and fairly distinctive to this yr’s event.
Our preparation has been excellent. We had an excellent tour to India after which had a month the place a few of us went off to The Hundred and the remainder of us stayed at house. We additionally had two separate camps the place we did match eventualities and plenty of talent work that’s wanted for T20 cricket.
It’s been winter at house, so temperature-wise it may be a little bit of a shock once we get to the event. There’s not a lot you are able to do to organize for 40, 45-degree situations when it is 10, 15 levels Celsius again at house.
That will probably be an enormous problem for us, adapting to the warmth. However aside from that, I believe we have ticked all of the bins and hopefully it bodes properly within the World Cup.
(That is a part of one of many captains’ columns)
