Johannesburg, June 22 (Inditop.com) South Africa may have fallen short of winning the World Twenty20, but coach Mickey Arthur believes they have sorted out the problem of bowling at death.
South Africa finally seem to be getting to grips with “death bowling” which has been an ongoing problem in both the 20 overs and 50 overs format for the side. This is particularly relevant looking ahead to the Proteas’ next challenge, the Champions Trophy in South Africa at home in September.
“This was one of the biggest positives to come out of our campaign,” said coach Arthur Monday.
“The way Dale Steyn and Wayne Parnell closed both the West Indies and Pakistan down in the last four overs of what were very tight matches was very encouraging. Looking ahead to the Champions’ Trophy these two look to have solved one of our few problem areas.”
The 19-year-old Parnell was the find of the tournament for South Africa. He showed the ability to fire in yorkers almost at will and has the temperament to adapt to match situations.
Parnell is still to showcase his potential as a batsman, so the world has so far only seen half the package of this talented all-rounder.
He learned a lot from his spell at Kent ahead of the tournament in adapting to local conditions. “The white ball does not swing much, so I have to alter my length accordingly,” Parnell said.
Two of the other star performers for South Africa were Jacques Kallis, who finished as the second leading run-scorer and also second in the category of leading boundary hitter.
South Africa lost in the semi-final to eventual winners Pakistan.
rounak