Expanded European events and next summer's extended Club World Cup have led to growing concerns about players' workloads
sports4 days ago
South Africa look to have found a way to negotiate the tricky pitches being offered up by T20 World Cup co-hosts the United States by dialling down the aggressive batting approach traditionally associated with the format.
The 20-team showpiece in the US and West Indies has been a low-scoring competition so far, with only Australia managing to breach the 200-mark once, and the governing International Cricket Council (ICC) has acknowledged the drop-in pitch in New York has not been up to standard.
The lack of big scores is in stark contrast with the recent Indian Premier League, where franchises routinely broke the 200-mark and Sunrisers Hyderabad posted a staggering 287-3 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 15.
South Africa effectively clinched a place in the Super Eight stage of the tournament following a four-run win against Bangladesh in a Group D thriller on Monday.
Electing to bat, they limped to 113-6 and restricted Bangladesh to 109-7 to register their third successive victory.
South Africa were reeling at 23-4 before Heinrich Klaasen (46) and David Miller (29) combined in a 79-run stand.
"Our mindset is not even close to T20 cricket," player-of-the-match Klaasen told reporters at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
"You just want to get in and find a way to bat at a run-a-ball."
Even the tournament's most anticipated match proved a low-scoring affair, with India dismissed for 119 but still managing to beat arch-rivals Pakistan in Sunday's blockbuster in New York.
"You can't just stand there and smack it all over the park," Klaasen said.
"We had more or less of a one-day mindset, myself and David in the middle, and that seemed to be working."
While a string of low-scoring matches may not be the best way to promote cricket in a new market like the US, Klaasen said the tournament was a lot more competitive.
"Obviously if you have to showcase it to the world and sell it, I don't think it's a great selling product. But for cricket, it's tight competition," the middle order batter said.
"It brings the other teams and the higher teams very close to each other, so the game is open to any team that does the basics of cricket very well."
ALSO READ:
Expanded European events and next summer's extended Club World Cup have led to growing concerns about players' workloads
sports4 days ago
Taking a closer look at the contenders who are solidly in the mix and those who are still vying for position at the business end
sports4 days ago
As the 16-time PGA Tour winner bids farewell to the game after four decades, we celebrate one of the lasting memories he has gifted us
sports4 days ago
The DP World Tour gears up for an exciting event with the $3.25 million acciona Open de España, marking the 37th of 44 tournaments in the season
sports4 days ago
His handling of logistical challenges underscores his commitment to staying prepared for the next phase of his career as he travels to the U.S. for PGA Tour Q’School
sports4 days ago
India delivered a remarkable performance at the Fide Chess Olympiad in Budapest, securing gold medals in both men's and women's events
sports5 days ago
Markram's unbeaten 69 and 26 not out from Stubbs saw them reach 170 for three wickets off 33 overs in reply to Afghanistan's total of 169
sports5 days ago
The Emirati has become the most successful driver by winning his fifth UIM F2 World Championship title
sports5 days ago