'SA ready for World Cup despite abandoned warm-up match'

Proteas top order batter Rilee Rossouw cut a positive figure despite the squad's final ICC Men’s T20 World Cup warm-up match against Bangladesh being abandoned without a ball bowled in Brisbane yesterday.

South Africa kick-off their campaign on Monday and the burly left-handed striker believes the amount of cricket they played over the past few months, on franchise and international level, will stand them in good stead.

Rossouw, who returned to the national fold earlier this year after an absence of nearly six years, said some of the squad members were disappointed the match was abandoned.

“Some of the guys might be [frustrated], other guys are ready to go. Unfortunately, it is something we cannot control.

“The boys have put in a good shift in the indoor [training facility] and are still training,” he added.

The Knights man said the squad felt confident with their preparations.

“We have played a lot of cricket over the past few weeks and months, especially with the franchise cricket also going on, there has been a lot of game time. So we can’t control the rain, but the boys are definitely ready for that first match.”

Rossouw underlined his value to the squad in the past two T20 series against England and India, scoring a career-best 96 in the second match against the English before bettering that by notching up a maiden T20 century to cement his place in the top order.

He also chipped in with a valuable 54 not out in Brisbane in their first warm-up match that saw SA romp to a nine-wicket victory over New Zealand on Monday.

‘It was pretty good for me to score runs and have time in the middle.

“Any batsman is going to like and want that before a big tournament like this, so it was nice to carry on that form and good to know I am hitting the ball well just before the World Cup.”

Teammate Reeza Hendricks was a batting partner in the early stages of their careers at the Knights and Rossouw said it was a pleasure to bat with him as he always brings something special to the crease.

“Reeza and I go a long way back. Hopefully, he can show his form if he gets a chance at the World Cup to show the world what he is about.

“He is 100% a better player now than when we started our careers. We are all much better players than when we started; we have learnt a lot throughout our careers, from each other and from the experiences we have had, and he is certainly a world-class player,” he said.