Competing in unpredictable conditions in the 50-over series, Ashwell Prince says the Proteas are focused on adapting.
The national one-day international (ODI) squad is in a good space in the long-term build up to the 2027 World Cup on home soil, according to Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince, as they look to take another step forward in the three-match series against India beginning in Ranchi on Sunday (10am start).
Though the Proteas concentrated on the five-day format in recent months, in the early stages of the new World Test Championship cycle, and their focus was now switching to the T20 format ahead of the World Cup early next year, Prince did not believe the ODI format was being neglected.
He did, however, feel there were improvements that needed to be made, particularly when they were placed under pressure by their opposition.
“We’ve been able to try different combinations in the 50-over space and we still have a bit of time to get closer to what our final squad (for the 2027 World Cup) will look like,” Prince said on Saturday.
“I’d say we’re doing pretty well in both the batting and bowling departments. I think if there’s one area that we probably could improve on is the bigger moments – tighter moments in clutch matches – by playing them better.
“We’ve had some good series in recent times – good success in Australia and England – but there’s always room for improvement.”
Conditions in India no longer foreign
Preparing to compete on unpredictable wickets in the 50-over series against India, Prince said the Proteas were focused on adapting.
He believed, however, that players were not as intimidated by sub-continent conditions as previous generations because many of them competed regularly in the Indian Premier League and other competitions in the T20 format.
“Maybe in years gone by it was foreign to us, but these days we have a lot more players who come to the sub-continent, touring India, albeit in shorter formats. We have a lot more players competing under these conditions these days,” Prince said.
“So the conditions aren’t that foreign to our players anymore, and we try to keep an open mind about the surfaces we’re going to be faced with.
“What’s important for us is not to premeditate how a pitch is going to play. A word that’s important for us in our team is ‘adaptability’.
“Conditions will be different to home and it’s important that whatever the conditions are on the day, we adapt our style of play accordingly.”
