NEWS
Follow UsSouth Africa have been killing it in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, and with four wins from five games, they are now sitting at the second spot on the points table. So much so that, their NRR of +2.370 is the best among all teams, which were achieved on the back of solid performances from their batters, with the lower-middle order coming into the fray in almost every game.
Was there a blueprint of sorts that the batters were following this time to achieve this? Aiden Markram, the stand-in skipper, doesn’t believe so but added that players have a pretty good understanding of how to approach such situations.
“It goes without saying that you obviously do need wickets in hand, but we haven't spoken about a blueprint as a unit. It's been actually quite a strange build-up the last two months or maybe slightly longer now. No definitive roles given but everyone kind of knows now what they need to do to help this batting unit peak at their best,” Markram said in the post-match press conference.
“So, there isn't necessarily a blueprint, but guys understand how to approach it. A big focus on playing conditions and not necessarily situations too much. Obviously, there will be times where you play the situation. But that's pretty much where it's at as a unit and we keep saying to look down at the surface and not up at the scoreboard and play exactly what's in front of us on the pitch.”
South Africa had been underperforming in major events for a while now, but this time, there’s something different about them. Not only have their wins been convincing, but also they have done it in the front end of the tournament. Markram, however, stated that there’s nothing like ‘making a statement’ in their mind; rather, they just want to do it on a game-to-game basis in order to achieve success.
“I'm not too sure if it's putting statements out there and we try to crack on with what we're trying to do and achieve as a team. As every other team is, I'm sure they are too. Get into that knockout stage and get to that final and then play a good game of cricket in the final as well.
“So that's pretty much where our focus is at. Not trying to blow up the occasion. Obviously, you respect the fact that you are at a World Cup for sure and you appreciate that a lot. But ultimately, when you cross the rope, it is just a game of cricket and I think that keeps us nice and calm as well. And hopefully, we can continue that approach going forward,” the South African skipper added.
Quinton de Kock, who has found himself in the middle of a dream World Cup run, managed to hit 15 fours and seven sixes on his way to 140-ball 174 against Bangladesh in Mumbai on Tuesday, his second-highest score in ODIs. De Kock also became the first wicketkeeper-batter to score 150 in the World Cup. Markram was all praise for the wicket-keeper while adding that QdK plays the way he wants to.
“We all know Quinton to be the free-spirited guy that he is, but he actually has a fantastic cricket brain on him. So, he assesses conditions really well and communicates that to us off the field even before we've walked out to bat. So, it adds a lot of value in that regard,” Markram said.
“And then you never want to clip his wings, really. You just want to let him fly. He structures it the exact way he feels need, and we back that completely as a unit. So, yeah, that's where we're at. I think, like I mentioned, we focus on conditions, we focus on really trying to take good options and wherever that leaves us at the end of it, if that thinking was nice and solid, then we can sleep pretty well at night.”
