Proteas opening batter Quinton de Kock called on his teammates to rock up and seal World Cup qualification this weekend.
South Africa take on the Netherlands in their final two Super League qualifiers on Friday in Benoni at 1pm and 10am start on Sunday at Wanderers.
SA are currently in a race to finish in the top eight of the Super League for a place in the 50-over showpiece in India, starting in October.
Hey Benoni, it's your turn to #BePartOfIt 😉
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) March 30, 2023
Join us for the start of the #SAvNED Betway ODI series 🏏
Grab your tickets now 🎟️ https://t.co/WasdPjf19H pic.twitter.com/irXhpIs7Cb
Currently 10th on 78 points, they must win the series 2-0 and make sure they don’t get penalised for slow over rates in order to get to 98 points to beat Sri Lanka’s potential total of 91, who played New Zealand in their final qualifier on Thursday night.
Anything less will mean going to Zimbabwe for a playoff series in June-July.
But De Kock says they are not going like that.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, he says: “I’m gonna give my absolute best to not go to Zim for the qualifiers. I’m sure the other guys want to avoid it too. So I’m sure we’ll rock up 100 percent and be ready to go.”
Quinton de Kock provides some insight into the mood in the #Proteas camp ahead of the #SAvNED series 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦#BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/kUkFBF6lAH
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) March 30, 2023
Standing in their way is a Dutch side which handed SA one of their lowest moments, when they ended their T20 World Cup dream at the group stage last November.
But De Kock says the players are in much better headspace and form than they were then.
He adds: “During that game, it was just a really bad day for us as players. And South Africans in general. It’s just sad it had to be that game.
“I think we’re playing pretty good cricket, but we can’t take things for granted.”