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Tait happy to play it short

Tait happy to play it short

09/07/2010 10:26:35 PM

Injury-plagued Australia bowler Shaun Tait has no regrets over his decision to play only limited-overs cricket, insisting it has allowed him more time to enjoy his game.

The 27-year-old quit Tests in 2008 and has been concentrating all his recent efforts on Twenty20 and 50-over games - and the rewards have already started to come through.

Tait, currently in South Africa preparing to turn out for South Australia in the Champions League Twenty20, said: "I haven't played a four-day match or a Test for some years now, and it's paid dividends for my body."

"I should be able to stay on the park for a good amount of time now, and Twenty20s are enjoyable."

"To play in a competition like this is a great thing, so I'm pretty happy with the decision I made."

The Adelaide-born paceman recently made history when he sent down a delivery that registered at 161.1kph (100.1mph) for Australia against England at Lord's - the second fastest delivery of all time.

Surprisingly, he has never bowled in South Africa and is relishing the prospect.

He continued: "I've never had a chance to bowl in South Africa."

"But South Africa's always traditionally been a good place to bowl quick."

"I think the wickets usually offer quite a bit, and some of the grounds offer altitude, where the ball reportedly travels quicker through the air."

"I think the fast bowlers are licking their lips."

Tait, who also plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), does not believe the three teams from that lucrative competition - Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians - have an advantage over the other teams.

He added: "It's a good chance for all the countries to put their best teams on the park and see how they measure up against each other."

"They have the big-gun players and the Sri Lankan team (Wayamba) are pretty talented themselves, so it's a big raffle about who's going to make the final."

The Redbacks suffered a setback in their preparations for the tournament with a five-wicket loss to Wayamba in their final warm-up match.

Dan Christian (44) and Cam Borgas (38) helped South Australia to a competitive 8-155, but experienced international Mahela Jayawardena (56) led Wayamba to victory with 10 balls to spare.

The Redbacks are in Group B for the September 10-26 tournament alongside Mumbai, Bangalore, West Indian champions Guyana and local side Lions, against whom they open their campaign in Pretoria on Sunday.

 
Photograph Copyright : Getty Images

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