We've all played enough cricket to switch from T20 to Tests, says Ryan Rickelton
Ryan Rickelton will hope to raise his bat once more for the Proteas against Australia. Photo: Itumeleng English Independent Media
Image: Itumeleng English Independent Media
Going into the World Test Championship final at Lord's next week, Proteas opening batter Ryan Rickelton believes they have enough experience to adapt to red-ball cricket, despite last playing a Test in the New Year's fixture at Newlands six months ago.
There were concerns around the Proteas' Test team preparations ahead of the showpiece event, as key players had been focused on T20 cricket in the IPL, while others were in their off-season at home over the past few weeks.
However, Rickelton told the media, before the team's departure to England last week, that every player in the squad possesses the necessary experience to make the required mental and technical shift back to Test cricket.
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The 28-year-old highlighted that leaving the IPL early was crucial, as it allowed time to prepare in South Africa before heading to England for the final phase of preparations.
'It was important to come home and not finish the IPL. I think if we'd managed to finish the IPL, it would have been very tight to try and prepare accordingly,' said Rickelton.
'We have enough time. We've all played enough cricket; we know when we're hitting the ball well or when we're ahead of ourselves, and so on and so forth.
'There's a lot of work that the guys put in behind the scenes. So, we'll be hitting hundreds and thousands of balls over the next few weeks to ensure we get back to our basics and adjust as best we can to the conditions.'
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