Follow UsAfter the first washout of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, South Africa’s skipper Temba Bavuma confirmed the return of Heinrich Klaasen. The hard-hitting batter missed out on South Africa’s tournament opener against Afghanistan but was slated to be part of the XI for the clash against Australia.
“Yeah, everyone is good – Henrich Klassen – he's recovered from the fitness- that obviously adds a lot of value towards our team spirits are good within the team. I heard Steve [Smith] speak about golf. We'd love to have that for our team. But things are good at the moment within the team,” Bavuma said after the match.
Would South Africa have fielded a different XI had the game been reduced to a 20-over affair?
“Look, we didn't really get to that point. I think we obviously had a team in mind, the 11, rain or no rain, and I guess for us, we would have trusted what we had in our 11,” Bavuma said.
“I think we have enough guys from a flexibility point of view. All the guys play T20 cricket now. So, if it came to the point where we had to adjust our skills, then we would have done so.”
With three points on board, South Africa have still not yet confirmed their qualification for the semi-final stage of the competition. If they have to get there, they would want to put on a show against England in their last group stage on March 1 (Saturday).
“Yeah, I mean, we’ll get to see them tomorrow when they or in a couple of days when they go against Afghanistan - that obviously will give us a better idea in terms of what the table looks like and what we need to do,” the South African skipper reflected.
“Obviously, we go into the game with winning, But I think again that becomes another important game. England, on paper, is one of the stronger sides, so we know that as a group, we'll have to play to our best. But we've got a couple of days now. Kind of put our feet up, and then probably after tomorrow, start preparing for that clash against England.”