AB de Villiers insists South Africa’s defeat to India has not altered their approach to the rest of their pool matches at the World Cup.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, De Villiers did, however, admit that the team’s confidence did take a knock by the heavy defeat by 130 runs against India.
‘It [the defeat] doesn’t change a thing. You can’t expect anything in these kind of tournaments. India are still the current world champions,’ De Villiers said.
‘There is no such thing as you just arrive at the World Cup and you beat India. You have to work really hard. Nothing has changed for our approach except our confidence might have taken a bit of a slip in the last game, which is maybe not a bad thing.
‘It’s maybe a good thing for us to make sure we keep our feet on the ground, keep working hard. We understand what is required in order for us to play some good cricket now. Not that we didn’t understand before, but I think that we’ve got only upwards to go now otherwise we’re going to stumble out of this tournament.’
The captain also elaborated on the different skills that Rilee Rossouw and Farhaan Behardien bring to the team. The expectation is that one of them will be included for the match against the West Indies on Friday.
There are, however, unconfirmed reports that JP Duminy is struggling with a hip injury and should the management team decide not to risk him, both Rossouw and Behardien could find themselves in the starting XI.
‘It depends which player we go for with whoever comes in, said De Villiers.
‘If Rilee and Fudgy [Behardien] play they’re two really good all-around cricket players; Rilee can bowl a bit of off-spin as well for us. And Farhaan, you’ve seen enough really. They’re both really good fielders, both good finishers, good middle order batters. They can play anywhere.
‘They’re versatile players. I like to have versatile players on my team to be honest with you, especially guys that can handle the pressure down in the middle of the order. Farhaan has seen out many games in the past, especially domestically, but he’s definitely capable of doing it here. Two class players, and if they do get a chance, I’m sure they’ll make it count.’
