Proteas have massive chance to impress on tough away tours

The Citizen

5 days ago

The Proteas will hope to shine in the shorter formats ahead of next year's T20 World Cup and the 50-over World Cup in 2027.
The Proteas have an incredible opportunity to impress on three very tough away tours over the rest of the year, with the national team going up against the 'big three' of Australia, England and India.
It will be the ultimate test for the Proteas as they face off against the three cricket powerhouses on their home turf, across the shorter formats of the game.
Unfortunately the current World Test Championship title holders will only be able to test their long format status against India at the end of the year when they play a two-Test series against the hosts in the sub-continent.
But it is in the shorter formats that the Proteas will hope to impress the most, especially ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka early next year, and their hosting of the 50-over World Cup in 2027.
Outside of the major tournaments, the Proteas have largely struggled in the shorter formats, suffering some chastening defeats against teams ranked lower than them.
But that was also down to a strange trend, especially over the past year, where they chose to rest the majority of their best players during various white ball series, which left makeshift teams to battle it out, with little success.
In their past three major short form tournaments, however, the Proteas have done well, reaching the Champions Trophy semis earlier this year, the T20I World Cup final in 2024 and the 2023 50-over World Cup semifinals.
Upcoming major tournaments
Leading up to the next two major white ball tournaments, it would probably do the Proteas well to build a winning culture and good momentum, as they did on the Test front to great success, ultimately triumphing in the grand finale against Australia at Lords in June.
Strong performances against the 'big three' on their home turf will also do wonders for the confidence of a number of young up-and-coming stars that could be key to the success of the Proteas in the coming years.
This will also be the second white-ball series in charge of the Proteas for coach Shukri Conrad, who has taken over all three format teams, after the sudden resignation of former white ball head coach Rob Walter earlier this year.
First up is the Aussies Down Under, with three T20Is and three ODIs set to be battled out later this month, and with exciting rising talents like Dewald Brevis, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Nqaba Peter named in the squad, it will be a baptism of fire for the relative newbies.
Next is the English in the UK in September, which will also see three ODIs and three T20Is played between the two teams, followed by a one-off T20I for the Proteas against Namibia in October, which will likely see a fringe side backed to play.
In November the two Tests against India will take centre stage, while the first of three ODIs will start at the end of that month, followed by a five-match T20I series deep into December.