Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza, Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus and Proteas captain Bjorn Fortuin ahead of the T20I Tri-Series in Windhoek.
Image: Namibia Cricket
The Proteas Men’s team begin a defining international season in the somewhat obscure location of Windhoek on Friday (2pm start).
Considering Australia, Bangladesh, and England await later at home, the T20I series against southern African neighbours Namibia and Zimbabwe could be seen as a mere distraction.
But this series, and the subsequent ODI matches against the hosts, are of significant value. Next year, the three African brothers are co-hosting the ICC World Cup, the first in these parts in 24 years.
Equally, the Proteas — or rather Cricket SA as the ‘big brother’ — has a responsibility it has probably been shirking over the last few years whilst trying to get its own house in order: to grow the game on the African continent.
Bjorn Fortuin is looking forward to his first Proteas captainct stint in Namibia
Image: BackpagePix
Hosts Namibia, whom the Proteas will face in the T20I series opener, are certainly now feeling the brotherly love.
“I think all the teams are really willing to do battle and at the same time willing to take the relationship around us forward and improve cricket in the region. And I think that's what makes a series like this exciting,” Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus said.
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza concurred that the importance of this T20I Tri-Series stretches beyond the results on the field.
“Firstly, congratulations to Namibia for building this beautiful facility. Call me biased if you want to, but I always feel like cricket is much better when Africans are doing well,” Raza said.
“Now that Namibia has got this world-class facility, they should have more fixtures going forward, which would help them in their own personal growth as well as cricketers.”
“If Namibia and Zimbabwe can get those fixtures, and our growth could match the growth of other top nations, then every series any nation plays is more competitive. I think that's what fans want to see anyway.”
Proteas stand-in captain Bjorn Fortuin and his team are, however, by no means on a humanitarian mission. The visitors are still smarting from a defeat to Namibia at the inauguration of the Windhoek Stadium last year, and they want to set the record straight.
“The last time we were here sort of sets the tone for us,” Fortuin said. “We don't want to lose. We're here to win. And that's no disrespect to Namibia or Zimbabwe. They are two fairly good teams that have played a lot of cricket over the last few years. They've done well. They know each other's games.
“And the results that they've churned out over the past few years speak for themselves. The only thing that we are focused on is our own processes, taking things game by game, breaking down little phases in games.
“There are many unknowns that could present themselves going forward into the next couple of weeks. So we'll just try and take things in our stride and see where that takes us.”
Fortuin is certainly looking forward to the challenge of leading the Proteas for the first time.
“It's an honour and a privilege to play for the country, first and foremost. Captaining is not necessarily something that I thought would come my way. It's a massive honour to do that,” he said.
“I've been privileged to play with a large number of guys in the group over the last 12 to 18 months. We've been playing quite a bit of A-side cricket together. It's a nice group to be a part of. It's a nice group to lead. Hopefully, we can have a good series.”
PROTEAS SQUAD FOR T20I TRI-SERIES
Bjorn Fortuin, Eathan Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Connor Esterhuizen, Jordan Hermann, Rubin Hermann, Duan Jansen, Kwena Maphaka, Nqobani Mokoena, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dré Pretorius, Lutho Sipamla, and Prenelan Subrayen.
Start: 2pm (SA time)
Related Topics:
Follow the story
