Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton will open the batting in the ODI format for the foreseeable future.
Targeting a more aggressive approach from their top order, Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince says it might be some time before fans see captain Temba Bavuma opening again in one-day international (ODI) cricket.
However, while the squad’s coaching team were eager for Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram to continue filling the top two spots, Prince said yesterday he felt the number three position was a suitable slot for the skipper.
Having opened during the World Test Championship final a couple of months ago, where he contributed a match-winning ton in the second innings, Markram was bumped up the order alongside Rickelton during the 2-1 ODI series victory against Australia earlier this month.
And while Prince felt Bavuma had done well enough at the top of the order, he confirmed the captain would retain the number three spot in the ODI series against England next week and for the foreseeable future.
“It’s a crucial position… and I think it suits him (Bavuma) to be at number three,” Prince said.
“His scores over the last 12 months have been pretty good, and most of them have been as an opener, but I don’t think there’s a big difference from number one to number three.
“And I think he’s got the maturity, and obviously as the leader he’s got the ability to bat in that position and make an assessment on how early to start putting the foot down or setting up the innings (if an early wicket falls).”
Lack of tons no major concern
Meanwhile, though no Proteas batters hit centuries during the ODI series against Australia, Prince said they were not overly concerned.
Between them, the SA team racked up five half-centuries in three games, and as long as they were taking the aggressive approach required from the coaches (within reason), they would continue to be backed.
“Maybe it was a little bit disappointing that nobody went on to score a hundred, but to be honest the focus is more on making an impact,” Prince said.
“So we don’t necessarily want somebody who is in the seventies or eighties to just have a hundred in the back of his mind and sort of nurse himself towards that.
“We want to try encourage, particularly those guys in that phase of their innings, that if they fancy it they put their foot down, and sometimes they will go on to get a hundred. And if they don’t, if they bomb out, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.”
