{"id":30226,"date":"2020-01-28T13:42:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T11:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cricket.supersportschools.com\/bird-believes-junior-proteas-have-found-rhythm-with-the-bat\/"},"modified":"2020-01-28T13:42:40","modified_gmt":"2020-01-28T11:42:40","slug":"bird-believes-junior-proteas-have-found-rhythm-with-the-bat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=30226","title":{"rendered":"Bird believes Junior Proteas have found rhythm with the bat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NewsGJonathanBird\"A rising star at the crease, Jonathan Bird, has shown glimpses of what he can produce and thinks the South Africa under-19s have begun to click with the bat ahead of their ICC under-19 Cricket World Cup Super League Quarter-final against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom on Thursday, 31 January.<\/span><\/p>\n

The imposing figure of the left-handed batsman from Cape Town entered the tournament with a reputation at under-19 level and is beginning to display his talents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bird and the Junior Proteas have recovered from a disappointing start to the tournament against Afghanistan and impressed in the subsequent group stage matches against Canada and the United Arab Emirates to finish second in Group D.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 18-year-old believes the upturn in form, particularly with the bat, has given the side an impetus going into the next game: \u201cWe\u2019ve had an up and down tournament,\u201d he began. \u201cWon two, lost one, but go into the quarter-final very confident.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve put three hundred on the board in our last two games, so we are looking to play on a flat wicket again and put three hundred on the board once more,\u201d Bird added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Western Province youngster has only managed a single half-century in the tournament so far but has played a crucial role in laying platforms that have propelled South Africa to totals of 349\/8 and 299\/8, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bird contributed an exciting 54 off 49 balls (7 fours, 2 sixes) against Canada followed by a solid 43 runs in a 63-run partnership with vice-captain, Khanya Cotani versus the UAE.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those steady foundations helped the likes of captain, Bryce Parsons, Luke Beaufort, and Tyrese Karelse score runs during the middle periods.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m getting better in each game; I\u2019m timing the ball a bit better,\u201d Bird commented.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the opening game, I got a good nut. It came through the gate and bowled me. In the Canada game, I found my timing, got a fifty and against the UAE, unfortunately, I got out in the 40s, but I am feeling good, feeling confident.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the tournament, we were struggling a bit with our middle-order, but they have come right, now and have been batting extremely well, getting a 150-run partnership in the UAE game.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey are working the ball around well, batting over five an over. I know they are going to continue that form into the Bangladesh game,\u201d the opening batsman concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n

The SA U19s will face Bangladesh at the JB Marks Oval from 10h00 (SA time) for a place in the semi-finals, with FREE entry for the spectators at the stadium.\u00a0 The match will also be live on SuperSport 2.<\/span><\/p>\n

SA under-19s ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020 Squad:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Bryce Parsons (Central Gauteng, capt), Khanya Cotani (North West, vice-capt), Luke Beaufort (Eastern Province), Jonathan Bird (Western Province), Merrick Brett (Northerns), Achille Cloete (Boland), Gerald Coetzee (Free State), Tyrese Karelse (South Western Districts), Mondli Khumalo (KwaZulu-Natal), Jack Lees (Central Gauteng), Andrew Louw (Northern Cape), Levert Manje (Central Gauteng), Odirile Modimokoane (North West), Pheko Moletsane (Free State), Tiaan van Vuuren (Eastern Province).<\/span><\/p>\n

ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Super League Quarter-finals:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

QF 1: 28 January \u2013<\/strong> Australia vs India at JB Marks Oval<\/span><\/p>\n

QF 2: 29 January \u2013<\/strong> West Indies vs New Zealand at Willowmoore Park<\/span><\/p>\n

QF 3: January 30 –<\/strong> South Africa v Bangladesh at JB Marks Oval<\/span><\/p>\n

QF 4: 31 January \u2013<\/strong> Afghanistan vs Pakistan at Willowmoore Park<\/span><\/p>\n

[powr-comments id=”b378a028_1580211181323″]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A rising star at the crease, Jonathan Bird, has shown glimpses of what he can produce and thinks the South Africa under-19s have begun to click with the bat ahead of their ICC under-19 Cricket World Cup Super League Quarter-final against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom on Thursday, 31 January. The imposing figure of the left-handed batsman […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29967,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}