Fast bowler Anrich Nortje is determined to secure a berth in the Proteas squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
Nortje is part of the squad for the ongoing limited-overs series against the Australians. He was rested for the preceding T20I and ODI series against England.
‘The World Cup is definitely one of my goals for this year, so I just want to try and play as much white-ball and T20 cricket as possible,’ said Nortje.
‘Whenever I do get an opportunity I want to try to learn, prove myself and show what I can do in white-ball cricket. So, it is definitely a big focus for this year as well as next year with another T20 World Cup then as well.’
The 26-year-old has played more Test than ODI or T20I cricket since last year’s international debut, but is determined to feature across all formats after recovering from a hand injury that prevented participation in last year’s World Cup.
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‘I am really excited to be in the squad. I am looking forward to taking on the Australian team and I just want to play, so it is really exciting,’ he added.
‘For me, I just want to improve, that is my biggest goal. I also want to gain a bit more experience and understand a few things better.
‘It is not going to happen overnight that I am going to become the world’s best T20 bowler or whatever it is, so if I can just take it slowly, step by step, and try to improve in every game. I will be happy with that.
‘I am really happy to be a part of the white-ball squad. There are quite a few guys from a staff point of view and players who I would like to work with, so if I can just try and build on my white-ball game as much as I have in the red-ball stuff, I will be very happy.
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