Proteas batter David Miller does not expect South Africa to hold back when they take on England in the third Betway one-day international (ODI) in Kimberley on Wednesday, saying he expected them to go all out for victory despite having already won the series.
The hosts took an unassailable 2-0 lead when they beat the tourists by five wickets in match two, which came hot on the heels of a 27-run win in the opener.
Both those games were played not far away in Bloemfontein and the national team is now looking ahead to a first appearance in the Northern Cape since 2018.
Miller says there is no question they will be up for the game, insisting the Proteas were seeking a 3-0 sweep irrespective of who played and who may be rested.
“We don't ever want to be a team that sort of sits behind with the mindset of 'let's see how it goes',” he told the media on Tuesday.
“Ultimately we want to win and we want to win the series 3-0. So for us it's really important to still be putting the tight people on the park.
“Our squad is incredibly strong and we're always producing great cricketers in South Africa and whoever does play, I have no doubt we're going to have a full strength team. Just to be nice and clinical will be the cherry on the top to win 3-0.”
Despite South Africa’s impressive form in the series, they are still chasing a bigger goal – and that is qualifying for a place at the ICC Cricket World Cup in India later this year.
Automatically reaching that target has been in jeopardy prior to the current sequence of games, but the two wins mean they are now making strong headway in the race for qualification.
Temba Bavuma’s side are up to ninth on the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League table, one place off their target, with three matches to play.
Miller says they are seeking to become even stronger in their remaining games, two of which are against the Netherlands.
“We have always stepped up against the stronger teams and England are a formidable force, so for us to well against them is always a pleasing thing,” he explained.
“Just to try and continually do the right things, ticking the right boxes both and off the field as a team is probably the most important thing for us.
“You put all those small per centages together and you're pretty much doing the right things. So it's the smaller things that make the difference and I'm excited about this team. We've been together now for some time, yes we haven't really been as successful as we may have wanted to be in the one-day stuff over the last two years, but it still doesn't take away how good the players are.
“We've got some seriously good players, world-class, match-winners and it's exciting times. If we can just put it all together we definitely can compete against the best in the world.”
Miller was also looking forward to playing in the rare surroundings of Kimberley.
“It is nice to be playing in Bloem and Kimberley, not necessarily the main cities, and it's nice for the local people, the fans and the supporters around here to get to watch international cricket,” he added.
“I think it's really good for Cricket South Africa.
“The fans absolutely love it and we're looking forward to seeing them all tomorrow in the grass banks at the stadium they have here. It's exciting and I know it's big for the local people, we're really looking forward to it.”
Bloemfontein was a vibe ??????
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) January 31, 2023
You're up next, Kimberley ??#SAvENG #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/wEP3fkySsT
Proteas ODI squad against England
Temba Bavuma (captain, DP World Lions), Quinton de Kock (Momentum Multiply Titans), Reeza Hendricks (DP World Lions), Marco Jansen (Dafabet Warriors), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Sisanda Magala (DP World Lions), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Janneman Malan (Gbets Rocks), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Anrich Nortje (Dafabet Warriors), Wayne Parnell (Six Gun Grill Western Province), Kagiso Rabada (DP World Lions), Tabraiz Shamsi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Rassie van der Dussen (DP World Lions).