World T20: Skipper Du Plessis, Steyn face fitness test

Faf du Plessis

Chittagong: South African captain Faf du Plessis and spearhead Dale Steyn will undergo fitness tests ahead of their opening World Twenty20 game in Chittagong, the skipper said yesterday. Both du Plessis and Steyn took part in team practice on Friday but have not fully recovered from hamstring injuries.

Faf du Plessis

"It's been a pretty intense week for Dale and myself trying to make sure we are 100 percent ready for the game tomorrow," du Plessis said, ahead of the match against world number one Twenty20 team Sri Lanka.
"As of now we are still assessing, we both will do a fitness test tomorrow to see where we are. We seem to be okay, but we will have a look at it tomorrow to see how the hami (hamstring) is doing."

Dale Steyn

Du Plessis missed both the warm-up matches ahead of the tournament while Steyn limped off after bowling 2.2 overs against Bangladesh ‘A' on Tuesday.

Both missed the warm-up tie against Pakistan on Wednesday. Du Plessis said he didn't face problems in batting. "Batting is 100 percent fine. I don't feel anything, but it's just when you are sprinting. Pace wise I am up to about 70 per cent, hopefully we can crank that up to around 90-95 tomorrow."

Broad's demand
Meanwhile, captain Stuart Broad has told his England side a winning start against New Zealand is "non-negotiable". Few England cricket teams have arrived at a global tournament with expectation around them so low, a combination of their woeful winter in all formats and the controversial absence of their likeliest T20 match-winner, Kevin Pietersen.

They play their opening game here having won only one of their last eight matches in the format, but Broad intends to end that sequence. With the match starting at 7.30pm, dew is expected to play a major role.

Live today
. South Africa vs Sri Lanka on Star Sports 1, 3 and HD 1, 15:00
. England vs New Zealand on Star Sports 1, 3 and HD 1, 19:00