Petersen Ready To 'Put The Darting Of T20 Cricket Away'

Petersen Ready To 'Put The Darting Of T20 Cricket Away'

Alviro Petersen does not anticipate any problem shifting his mindset from T20 cricket to the longer format of the game

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The hectic nature of international and domestic cricket schedules often forces players to play two and sometimes three formats within a short period of time.

Most players have become accustomed to the need to adapt to each format to maintain their form and Alviro Petersen must do the same in Australia.

He is expected to open the batting alongside captain Graeme Smith in the four-day game against Australia 'A' less than one week after he led Highveld Lions in the final of the Champions League Twenty20 against Sydney Sixers.

On that occasion, his team was outplayed and it goes without saying that he will be hoping for better luck the next time he faces an Australian side.

"It’s the mindset," he said. "It's all about getting into the right frame of mind, making sure that duration comes into play, which is about batting for a long period of time.

"It is important that you stick to your disciplines, especially up front. It is about knowing where you have to play, what sort of areas you want to score in; you definitely put the darting of T20 cricket away."

He is not alone. Jacques Rudolph, Francois du Plessis, Morne Morkel and Thami Tsolekile as well as Mitchell Starc and Shane Watson on Australia's side were also in Twenty20 action in South Arfica.

For Petersen, this is his fourth trip to Australia, coming after tours in 2002 with the Academy and then with the Emerging Players squad in both 2006 and 2007. It is his first with the senior side, however.

"I think Australia is close to South Africa so hopefully it (conditions) will play exactly the same as back home," he said. "I have been to Australia three times before, I enjoyed it the last time around so hopefully this time it will be better."

He will need to go some to better his 2012 performances to date, having scored 509 Test runs at an average of 72 and he has notched a century in all three series he has played this year. Continuing that run would put the Proteas in pole position to consolidate their number one Test ranking.

© Cricket World 2012