Published: Jun 14, 2016, 04:41 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 14, 2016, 06:08 PM (IST)
Johannesburg: Ahead of his side’s tri-series clash against West Indies, South Africa opener Hashim Amla has called on the top batting order to take the responsibility for run-scoring rather than leaving the pressure on the lower order to finish the game. If South Africa manage to claim victory against the Caribbean side, then all the three sides,including Australia, will go into the final round fixtures with two wins and two losses. But if the Proteas suffered a defeat in the upcoming match then they will face an uphill task to make it to the tournament final. Full Cricket Scorecard: West Indies vs South Africa, 6th ODI Match at Basseterre, St Kitts
South Africa’s lower order has failed to contribute in the three matches so far and the former skipper believes it is not up to the tail-end batsmen to get the team over the line. “As a team we have always backed ourselves for somebody in the top six to take it through and bat as deep as possible. Obviously we are very disappointed after our last game. We got ourselves into a very good position to win it and we didn’t quite take it through. We lost some wickets at crucial times and that cost us. Hopefully we don’t make the same mistake in the next game,” the former skipper was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. Hashim Amla: Although late, but have adjusted to T20 format
In their opening match against West Indies, South Africa lost seven wickets for 28 while in the previous game against Australia, they collapsed from 210 for four to 252 all out. Amla admitted that it was the responsibility of his side’s batsmen to help the team chase down the target and, therefore, called on South Africa to get back to their winning ways. “We are all extremely hungry to turn it around and get back to winning ways but it’s still early in the competition,” Amla insisted. South Africa will play against West Indies at the Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts, on Wednesday.
