'Got big shoes to fill' - Tony de Zorzi on daunting task of succeeding Dean Elgar as new Proteas opener

"So, it'll really be exciting to be batting with Aiden. It's cool that it's a familiar face," mentioned de Zorzi.

It's my first international tour, so I want to do well: Tony de Zorzi 

Interestingly, the aggressive batter has contested all his international fixtures exclusively within South Africa. Nevertheless, he intimated that he harboured an intuitive sense of the strategies which West Indies might employ to dismiss him and noted that he had been diligently preparing countermeasures. He also acknowledged that he is in the process of adjusting to new conditions since the impending one will be his first international tour. 

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"Having played against them before, I have a feeling of what their guys will try to do to try to get me out. So, I'm practising the ways I would counter that, and then focusing on my strengths and making sure that I'm there for long periods of time. With regards to intensity, I've tried my best to acclimatise. It's my first international tour, so I want to do well," added de Zorzi.

And indeed, the burden of taking on Elgar's mantle will be a significant task at hand. Over the course of 86 matches for the Proteas, he amassed 5347 runs at a commendable average of 37.92, including 23 fifties and 14 centuries. It remains to be seen how this promising prospect will fare against the Caribbean.