Maharaj eager for world champions test

Proteas captain Keshav Maharaj is confident they can perform in the upcoming One Day International series against a well-oiled England side.

South Africa will kick off their UK tour on Tuesday at The Riverside Ground in Durham, and will play their first ODI since their three-match series defeat to Bangladesh in March.

The Proteas beat India 3-0 in January after a 2-1 defeat to Sri Lanka four months prior, but Maharaj believes the new blood they've worked into the team over the past year can kick off and gain some more winning experience.

œWe haven™t done relatively well in the ODI format but we™ve tried various formats and combinations, so hopefully we™ve found that rhythm to our game now when we can start off on a positive note, come this England series, Maharaj told the media on Monday.

œObviously England have come off quite a bit of cricket and they™re pretty much a more settled team. But having put in the hard work over the past 12 months, I think it™s about time we see some good results come this series and moving forward.

England, the reigning ODI world champions, will prove a litmus test for the Proteas as they look to fine-tune their squad and game in the lead-up to next year's World Cup in India, according to Maharaj, who dons the captaincy in the absence of the injured Temba Bavuma.

œThe boys are really excited, it™s been a while since we™ve played our last ODI game and it™s been a substantial and lengthy build-up to the game, so the boys are ready to get onto the park come tomorrow and hit the ball running, he said.

œResults haven™t really gone our way, but it™s a nice way to build that confidence and filter in towards ODI cricket up until the World Cup next year.

The Proteas have a poor record in white-ball cricket in England, but the 32-year-old left-arm spinner is eager to change that.

œIt does present an opportunity to do something special, he explained. œWe™ve come a long way as a team and as a unit. So it is an opportunity to create history, but we™ll take it one ball at a time and hopefully achieve something really big as the ODI unit, he said.

Proteas ODI squad: Keshav Maharaj (captain, Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Quinton de Kock (Momentum Multiply Titans), Reeza Hendricks (Imperial Lions), Marco Jansen (Gbets Warriors), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Janneman Malan (GbetsRocks), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius (North West Dragons), Anrich Nortje (Gbets Warriors), Tabraiz Shamsi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Rassie van der Dussen (Imperial Lions), Lizaad Williams (Momentum Multiply Titans), Khaya Zondo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kyle Verreynne (Six Gun Grill Western Province).

By Web Admin