Langeveldt impressed with seamers’ aggression

DHAKA: After bowling Bangladesh out for under 100 in the first T20, South Africa’s attack intends to apply the same heat to their opposition in the second game as they go in search of a series win.
“We need to be pretty aggressive; that’s our game plan,” Charl Langeveldt, who is on his first assignment as South Africa’s bowling coach after succeeding Allan Donald last month, said. “Normally when we come to the subcontinent, we try and use our aggression. That’s why we play four fast bowlers.”
South Africa’s pack of Kyle Abbott, Kagiso Rabada, David Wiese and Wayne Parnell broke the back of the Bangladesh chase, with six wickets between them. Abbott and Rabada set the tone through effective use of the short ball, which made matters uncomfortable for the Bangladesh batsmen even though there was not much bounce or pace from the surface.
Abbott’s first over was exclusively about holding his length back and varying his line from wide outside the off stump to closer in, aimed at the batsman’s body. He was rewarded with a wicket at the end of it. Rabada initially bowled on a length but soon saw he would need to get the batsmen into awkward positions. As soon as he banged in a bouncer, it produced a wicket.
But Langeveldt explained that despite the brutish nature of a barrage of short balls, he is not teaching his bowlers to single-mindedly adopt a caveman-like, forceful approach to their bowling. “It’s also about the follow-up ball and our guys executed that well too,” he explained. “We need to adapt. You can’t just come and be aggressive to a Shakib [Al Hasan] or a Mushfiqur [Rahim] if he is going well. It’s also about adapting to the conditions.”