File photo of South African players.
Former pacer Morne Morkel believes South Africa can reach the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup as their bowlers have the ability to dodge an in-form England top order on Saturday.
For South Africa to make the semi-finals, they need to win their final group match against England by a good margin and are expected to beat West Indies contenders Australia, who currently have a better net run rate than the Proteas.
“The bowling is definitely the strength of the Proteas and I believe they can take us to the semi-finals,” Morkel wrote in his column for the ICC.
Proteas have a powerful bowling attack Kagiso Rabada And Enrique Nortje is looking after the pace front, while the world’s No. 1 T20 bowler Tabrez Shamsi And Keshav Maharaj Will head the spin department.
“It’s a win-win game for South Africa against England on Saturday, but West Indies vs Australia is also going to have a massive impact, with the net run-rate potentially coming into play,” Morkel said. “If South Africa’s top bowlers can fire, they can really ruin England’s top order,” he added.
Morkel thinks Temba Bavuma and his teammates have acquired a good grasp of the conditions in Sharjah, last week’s four-wicket win against Sri Lanka, which will help them come on Saturday.
“South Africa can beat England. The Sharjah wicket will suit the Proteas and they will have a good understanding of the conditions after winning a close game against Sri Lanka.”
“The battle of the spinners, Adil Rashid vs Tabrez Shamsi match-up, is worth watching”
After going through a revival, the South African team does not boast of the same number of superstars as previous Proteas sides, and therefore has less chances of winning the tournament, removing the heavy burden of pressure that usually casts a shadow on the team in every ICC tournament. Puts. .
“I think South Africa is flying under the radar in this tournament. A lot of people said they didn’t have a chance in the XI without their household name.
“But they are quietly playing good cricket and they have dangerous batsmen who will go ahead quinton de kockWatch, Rassie van der Dussen, and David Miller hit two sixes one after the other to win it on the second night against Sri Lanka. Mark Boucher is an organized coach and knows how to get the best out of his players when it matters most.”
Morkel believes that although England have almost reached the semi-finals from Group 1, they have won all their four matches Eoin Morgan & Co. cannot take the match against South Africa lightly.
“England won’t get much rest, even if they have almost qualified, I don’t think you can take rest and mess with form in this ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
“It has all the ingredients to be one of the games of the tournament.”
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