Proteas set up base in Brisbane

SPORT

The Proteas finally touched down in Australia on Friday to set up base two weeks before their T20 World Cup opening match.

The cricket team arrived in Brisbane after back to back 2-1 defeats in their bilateral T20 and ODI series in India last week.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom as the Proteas were swashbuckling in their come-from-behind 2-1 T20 series against England and won a two-match T20 series against Ireland in July and August, respectively, before touring India last month.

Captain Temba Bavuma and the team’s media manager Lucy Davey were the first to leave New Delhi for Melbourne via Dubai on Wednesday and arrived on Thursday night.

Bavuma was at the captain’s event in Melbourne yesterday where, for the first time in the history of the men’s T20 World Cup, all 16 captains came together for a media opportunity.

The rest of the Proteas team and support staff left New Delhi on Thursday evening, arriving in Brisbane on Friday night.

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After their last match in New Delhi on Tuesday – a crushing defeat by seven wickets with 185 balls remaining in their final ODI rubber – the Proteas have exactly 12 days to prepare for their opening match at the global cricket tournament that runs in Australia from tomorrow until November 13.

Following yesterday’s captains event, Bavuma linked up with the rest of the team in Brisbane, where South Africa will play two warm-up matches against New Zealand at the Allan Border Field tomorrow, and against Bangladesh at the same venue on Wednesday.

The team will leave Brisbane after the two games and head for Hobart, where they will play against a yet to be determined qualifier at the Bellerive Oval.

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