Enoch Nkwe. (Photo Source: Getty Images)
Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) director of cricket, Enoch Nkwe has stated that the steps being implemented by CSA will assist the men’s team in dealing with high-pressure situations in the forthcoming ICC Cricket World Cup. The 2023 World Cup will be held in India from October to November.
South Africa appear to have changed a lot under white-ball head coach Rob Walter and captain Temba Bavuma. In May 2023, the team earned direct qualification for the ODI World Cup, and they have already begun preparations for the 50-over competition, with five ODIs scheduled against Australia at home in September just before the World Cup.
Since qualifying, there has been a lot going on behind the scenes, according to Nkwe. He added that South Africa have already held national camps to ensure that players are constantly developing, that roles are clearly defined and that everything is in place for the World Cup later this year.
“There’s been quite a lot happening behind the scenes since qualifying, even since the last game of the season we didn’t take our foot off the pedal. We’ve already had national camps with a small group of players; ensuring there’s continuous development with our players, clarity in role definition and everything is in line with our World Cup at the end of the year,” Nkwe was said as quoted by Sowetan Live.
The 40-year-old went on to say that South Africa will start their main camp at the end of June after all the players will return to the set-up.
“We are going to have the main camp because all the players will be back, that’s going to be at the end of June into July building up to the Cricket Awards. It’s going be a 10-day camp, it’s going to be an intense camp, and we’ll be tapping into the team culture,” he added.
Players know each other very well, it’s the work of the coaches to align them: Nkwe
The former South African domestic cricketer further stated that the players share good camaraderie and that it is the coaching staff’s responsibility to properly align them in order to create a very healthy atmosphere for them.
“The players in the system know each other very well, it’s the work of the coaches to align them, ensuring that they can push each other and create a very enabling environment that understands that we are all about excellence,”
“We are fine-tuning what the baseline of when we are under pressure will look like. The exciting thing is that for the first time in a while, the players are pulling in one direction, it is exciting,” he concluded.