Many South Africans won’t know much about the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali stadium in Fatullah. That‚ for instance‚ it used to be called the Narayanganj Osmani stadium‚ or that SA lost both the games they played there during the 2004 under-19 World Cup.
But if SA win next year’s World T20 in India‚ South Africans will know that the team’s journey to that destination began in Fatullah.
That’s where SA’s tour of Bangladesh starts on Friday in the shape of a warm-up match ahead of Sunday’s first T20 international in the all too familiar confines of the Shere Bangla National stadium in Dhaka — where one of Kurt Darren’s tortured tunes boomed overhead even as New Zealand were handing down a masterclass in minimalism to beat Graeme Smith’s men in the World Cup quarterfinal.
Four years on‚ at Eden Park in Auckland on March 24‚ the Kiwis added another mare to SA’s nights for decades to come‚ this time by holding their nerve with knuckles white to win the World Cup semifinal.
It’s the long way from the World Cup to the World T20‚ but for South Africans the upshot is the same — 23 years after first cheering on their team in a major tournament‚ they have had a sole trophy to shout about. Winning the World T20 in India in March would change all that.
“The World Cup is a few months gone now so that’s pretty much behind us‚” JP Duminy said on Thursday as he contemplated SA’s first match since that epic night in Auckland.
“We know it’s a new season‚” Duminy said. “We’ve got new goals as a team and as individual players‚ and we’ve got to make sure we stick to those goals and try and achieve them.
“We want to up our rankings and we’ve got a few games now leading up to the T20 World Cup next year‚ and that’s our main goal.”
Not to mention to have a good‚ long look at their player depth in the lead-up to that tournament.
Beuran Hendricks‚ Eddie Leie‚ Chris Morris‚ Aaron Phangiso‚ Kagiso Rabada and David Wiese‚ who are all in the T20 squad‚ have played a total of 23 matches in the format for SA.
Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn‚ who are among the players rested for the series‚ each have 38 T20 international caps.
As well as Bangladesh have played recently‚ beating Pakistan and India in one-day series‚ and despite every South African player who gets the chance talking up them up — Steyn excepted — victory is secondary for SA.
Getting all in order for the World T20 matters more than winning‚ especially as after this series SA will play just 10 more games of the short‚ sharp stuff before they try to take over the world.
The Bangladeshi military must have thought they were trying to do exactly that in more suspicious fashion in Dhaka on Wednesday‚ when a camera drone that SA’s travelling social media crew had deployed at a training session was ordered out of the sky.
At least it wasn’t shot down.
Some among us will take that as an omen that‚ this time‚ SA’s trophy dream will fly.
And that it is cleared for take-off in Fatullah on Friday.
T20 World Cup is SA’s major goal‚ says Duminy
Many South Africans won’t know much about the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali stadium in Fatullah. That‚ for instance‚ it used to be called the Narayanganj Osmani stadium‚ or that SA lost both the games they played there during the 2004 under-19 World Cup.
But if SA win next year’s World T20 in India‚ South Africans will know that the team’s journey to that destination began in Fatullah.
That’s where SA’s tour of Bangladesh starts on Friday in the shape of a warm-up match ahead of Sunday’s first T20 international in the all too familiar confines of the Shere Bangla National stadium in Dhaka — where one of Kurt Darren’s tortured tunes boomed overhead even as New Zealand were handing down a masterclass in minimalism to beat Graeme Smith’s men in the World Cup quarterfinal.
Four years on‚ at Eden Park in Auckland on March 24‚ the Kiwis added another mare to SA’s nights for decades to come‚ this time by holding their nerve with knuckles white to win the World Cup semifinal.
It’s the long way from the World Cup to the World T20‚ but for South Africans the upshot is the same — 23 years after first cheering on their team in a major tournament‚ they have had a sole trophy to shout about. Winning the World T20 in India in March would change all that.
“The World Cup is a few months gone now so that’s pretty much behind us‚” JP Duminy said on Thursday as he contemplated SA’s first match since that epic night in Auckland.
“We know it’s a new season‚” Duminy said. “We’ve got new goals as a team and as individual players‚ and we’ve got to make sure we stick to those goals and try and achieve them.
“We want to up our rankings and we’ve got a few games now leading up to the T20 World Cup next year‚ and that’s our main goal.”
Not to mention to have a good‚ long look at their player depth in the lead-up to that tournament.
Beuran Hendricks‚ Eddie Leie‚ Chris Morris‚ Aaron Phangiso‚ Kagiso Rabada and David Wiese‚ who are all in the T20 squad‚ have played a total of 23 matches in the format for SA.
Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn‚ who are among the players rested for the series‚ each have 38 T20 international caps.
As well as Bangladesh have played recently‚ beating Pakistan and India in one-day series‚ and despite every South African player who gets the chance talking up them up — Steyn excepted — victory is secondary for SA.
Getting all in order for the World T20 matters more than winning‚ especially as after this series SA will play just 10 more games of the short‚ sharp stuff before they try to take over the world.
The Bangladeshi military must have thought they were trying to do exactly that in more suspicious fashion in Dhaka on Wednesday‚ when a camera drone that SA’s travelling social media crew had deployed at a training session was ordered out of the sky.
At least it wasn’t shot down.
Some among us will take that as an omen that‚ this time‚ SA’s trophy dream will fly.
And that it is cleared for take-off in Fatullah on Friday.
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