World News – UK – England ready for a show in Newlands

CAPE TOWN – England captain Eoin Morgan says his England team are determined to « put on a bit of a show » in the Twenty20 international series which begins Friday at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.

Morgan said he became aware of the importance of live television sports during the Covid-19 lockdown.

« It’s huge, » he said of the opportunity to play international sports and entertain the audience.

But Morgan said he had foreseen no premature end to the need for teams to stay in bio-safe « bubbles » during play.

« There is news about vaccines, but the first to get it are the people who really need them. We are in the pecking order of who should be prioritized, « he said.

« It’s the first time in a long time that we have a strong team to choose from. It’s very exciting. « 

He said he believed his team were well prepared as some players were active in the last Indian Premier League while others benefited from a longer off-season break.

« Training was very dangerous, » he joked of England’s hard-hitting batsmen who flexed their muscles in practice. « We had open nets and balls were flying around. « 

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South African captain Quinton de Kock said his country’s large 24-man squad had been selected to cover both the T20 series and a one-day international series immediately thereafter.

« We’ll narrow it down to 12 or 13 if we go down today, » he said.

Two unnamed South African players remain in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19, but Cricket South Africa announced Thursday that there had been no new positive cases after a third round of testing.

The all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius, however, was excluded from both series after a thigh injury during training.

De Kock said: « England have an amazing team full of match winners but in the last series we gave them a run for their money so I expect a close series. « 

« I expect a very competitive streak, » he said, pointing out that the two teams had drawn a one-day streak in South Africa earlier this year before England just about won a T20 streak.

English cricket team, Eoin Morgan, cricket, South African national cricket team, Twenty20 International, One Day International