Proteas avoid ‘C’ word: ‘Cupcakes’ ready to absorb World Cup pressure
· Citizen
After picking up their seventh straight victory on Sunday in their last match of the Super Eight stage, Proteas coach Shukri Conrad insisted the national cricket team were absorbing the pressure as they geared up for the play-offs at the T20 World Cup.
Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.
South Africa earned a five-wicket win over Zimbabwe in Delhi, finishing top of their Super Eight group and setting up a clash against New Zealand in the semifinals in Kolkata on Wednesday.
While the Proteas had never won a limited overs World Cup title, Conrad felt they were ready for battle in the knockout stages, and he said they were not thinking about the dreaded ‘chokers’ tag which the SA squad had carried for decades.
“There’s always pressure, but it’s about what you do with it now. You shift the pressure,” Conrad said.
“As for the ‘C’ word, I think there’s another one for it – ‘cupcakes’, we kind of enjoy that – but there’s always pressure and it’s about embracing that pressure.
“We won’t do things any differently. We’re going to do things exactly the same way for New Zealand – even if we start as favourites because we’re the only unbeaten side in the competition – and I don’t know if that adds to the pressure because I think playing the semifinal against a top side like New Zealand is pressure enough.”
Fielding needs to be tighter
Conrad believed the biggest improvement the Proteas could make in sharpening up for the knockout stages was in terms of their fielding abilities.
While the SA side had been superb with bat and ball throughout the tournament, the head coach admitted they could clean things up in an attempt to make history next week.
Nonetheless, he was pleased with the overall performances of the national team at the global T20 showpiece.
“I still feel in the field maybe we can create more opportunities. Our catching has let us down a little bit,” Conrad said.
“But I don’t want to be ultra critical now. We’re playing some really good cricket, and as has been the case in the last couple of weeks, we’ll double down on what we’ve done, and we’ll do that again over the next couple of days.
“So we’ll fly out tomorrow, rest up well, and then see how the guys pull up and who needs what in their games, and then we crack on.”