[LOOK] Temba Bavuma’s up for the Cup
|Published
Pumped up: Temba Bavuma
Proteas captain Temba Bavuma is ready to pak his tassies for his first ever 50-over World Cup campaign in India later this year.
The Proteas secured qualification for the October showpiece on Tuesday night when the first ODI between Ireland and Bangladesh rained out.
If Ireland had beaten Bangladesh 3-0 in the series, it would have gotten technical for the eighth and final automatic qualification spot for the tournament and South Africa could possibly have gone via the Qualifier route.
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Instead, Ireland will now play in the Qualifiers in Zimbabwe next month where 10 countries (Netherlands, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Oman, Nepal, USA, UAE, West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe) will compete for the two remaining spots.
South Africa, meanwhile, joined India, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, Australia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan as the already-qualified teams.
Of qualifying, SA captain Bavuma says: “I am pleased to learn that we’ve secured qualification for the World Cup in India.
“If I look at the journey, it’s been a tricky one for us as a team to get to this point. But I think looking at the last couple of months a lot of positive strides have been made as a team.
“I think we are well-positioned to build on the momentum and confidence we have gained. I think now is the perfect opportunity for us to really focus on a World Cup from a preparation point of view, nail down on our plans and brush up areas that we feel we need to brush up on.
“It will be a major honour and privilege and honour to lead the team in my first ever 50-over World Cup and I hope we can achieve some good things as a team.”