LONDON, (Reuters) – South Africa have been buoyed by Monday’s one-day international win over England at Lord’s and the side will go into this week’s Champions Trophy with confidence, said coach Russell Domingo.
South Africa, who lost the first two matches in the series but won the third by seven wickets, face Sri Lanka in the Champions Tophy at the Oval on Saturday.
“Every international game has importance,” said Domingo.
“Whether we are 2-0 up or 2-0 down, we try to approach it with the same sort of intensity. There have been a lot of benefits and a lot of positives in the last two games that we can take through towards the Champions Trophy.
“I’m happy with the way things have panned out for us.”
Morne Morkel played his first ODI in more than a year and, while overshadowed by the bowling of Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell, now offers an added attacking option.
“He has had a long injury and a long lay-off and the players who have played in his absence have done really well. I always felt it to be fair to them to give them first bite. Morne is a quality bowler and it is great to have him back in the mix.
“To win this game will give us confidence and I feel the team goes into the Champions Trophy feeling strong. We have great names and if we play well we can win this.”
One downside for the team is injury concerns over David Miller and Imran Tahir but officials expect them to recover by Saturday.
