Keshav Maharaj stresses importance of mental breaks ahead of the Test Championship final

Keshav Maharaj feels the time away from cricket has been vital in allowing the spinner to recharge mentally for the Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s from June 11-15. 

“I think 11 weeks off it’s a nice mental break. People keep forgetting that we’re also human and we need the down time to be mentally fresh for such an important game,” he said at the send-off for the Proteas in Sandton on Friday.

“It’s nice to go back to the drawing board and identify things that we can work on as players during the sort of off-season and implement new things, and still work on the positives from last season. 

“I’ve enjoyed the time off, I’m mentally fresh. I’ve watched a lot of cricket videos.  But you want to hit the track, play cricket again. You can only watch so much cricket, only train so much before you want to put things in place.”

Top order batter Aiden Markram feels coming close to lifting trophies in the last few years in different formats had instilled belief in the Proteas across the formats.  

Skipper Temba Bavuma also touched on the fact that the Proteas would have to make a number of adjustments ahead of the final, as it has been a while since they last played a Test match.

“Also, the conditions in the UK are a little bit different to what we are used to here in South Africa. Probably the biggest thing is from a  mental point of view,” he said

The skipper said it was important for the players not to be overawed by the occasion. 

“I think as much as we need to inspire people, we as a group also have the opportunity to push our standard a little bit higher. We go there to play our best cricket and ensure that the result is in our favour,” he concluded.