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Proteas are not a finishing school‚ says T20 batting coach 'Zulu' Klusener

SA senior men's cricket national team batting coach Lance Klusener (R) in a discussion with Quinton de Kock (L) during training in Pretoria on September 4 2019.
SA senior men's cricket national team batting coach Lance Klusener (R) in a discussion with Quinton de Kock (L) during training in Pretoria on September 4 2019.
Image: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Proteas batting consultant Lance “Zulu” Klusener says there is no time for excuses for the T20 side who are faced with the task of beating India in their three-match series away from home.

South Africa are scheduled to play three T20 internationals against India starting at Dharamsala on September 15 and Klusener said they must hit the ground running because the Proteas are not a “finishing school”.

“I am not into these things of saying that we are young‚ rebuilding or we are these and that because the national team is not a finishing school‚” he said.

“We need to win games because the public demands that. I just hate this thing of saying‚ ‘We are learning‚ we are developing’‚ and‚ ‘Give us a chance’. We must hit the ground running.

“There is quality in this team and I don’t see the point of hiding behind the sayings that we have gaps to fill and we are growing because I just think that it is an excuse to fail.”

Lance Klusener is only involved with the team for tour of India but said he is keen to be a part of the national going forward into the future.
Lance Klusener is only involved with the team for tour of India but said he is keen to be a part of the national going forward into the future.
Image: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

Klusener said if SA lose‚ they should do that fighting.

“We are going to play against some good teams and it is fine to lose‚ but what is important is how you lose.

"The way we have been losing hasn’t been great‚ it is fine to be beaten by a decent team on any given day.”

Klusener‚ who played 49 Tests and 171 ODIs and almost single-handedly won the Cricket World Cup for South Africa in 1999‚ said the players have sometimes lacked passion and intensity.

“I don’t know why because I have been watching the same TV that you guys have been watching and I haven’t been on the inside‚” he said.

“There are a lot of distractions these days in the form of T20 leagues around the world and I don’t know if people were jaded or had their minds on other stuff because the World Cup was looming and they wanted to get there.

"I might be a little bit harsh but that is how it looked from the outside and now we must settle on how we want to play‚ especially in T20 cricket.”

The Proteas tour to India will mark a first assignment for Enoch Nkwe since his was appointed interim coach.
The Proteas tour to India will mark a first assignment for Enoch Nkwe since his was appointed interim coach.
Image: Christiaan Kotze/Gallo Images

Klusener is only available for the three T20s but he has made it clear that he would like to be involved in the long term.

“I will chat with Corrie [Van Zyl] when we arrive in India but currently I have other engagements until February.

"But when your national team calls‚ it calls and there is nothing that can stand in the way of that.

“My focus for now is just these three T20s and I am not interested in the World Cup because I may not even be part of that.

"We will chat and see how it goes and it will be wonderful to be involved going forward.”