‘We won’t choke’

Coach Ottis Gibson and captain Faf du Plessis may get angry and frustrated over questions about the Proteas choking again at the World Cup, but as they arrive in England on Monday morning, they will know those questions are coming and have prepared a strategy to deal with them.

South Africa’s World Cup hopes were never dashed more cruelly than the last time the tournament was played in England, in 1999, but several of the current squad had not even picked up a bat or ball yet when that disastrous run out occurred.

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“People will highlight the baggage, it’s like a big mirror that is always in front of you, but we don’t think about choking, it has no relevance for us.

“It’s been a two-year journey for us to give the team the mental tools we really believe in, and when the pressure comes, it should bring out the best in them.

“We wanted to get the guys to be more free and not fearing making mistakes,” Du Plessis said at the airport at the weekend.

“It’s the ambition of every team to win the World Cup, but I understand the history for South Africans because they’ve had their chances but have not taken them.

“But we’re not focused on the baggage, we’re focused on the positives, and we don’t want to carry too much of what has gone before.

“Our focus is on what we’re going to do and making sure that we do it very well,” Gibson added.

Du Plessis will be appearing in his third World Cup and is now a very experienced leader.

Apart from all the countries he has toured in the last eight years with the Proteas, Du Plessis’ travels have also seen him play for teams in India, England and the West Indies, all adding to his intellectual database.

He said the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been especially useful.

“South Africa have always been a very good league and series team, but in tournaments we haven’t played as well as we should have.

“But I’ve played tournament cricket for a long time now in the IPL, and I’ve learnt the importance of the things you can control – like your preparation, your attitude and the environment around the team.

“And the World Cup is a long, long tournament.

“It’s not about how you get to the semifinals, you just have to get there and then any team can win.

“In a series you can make mistakes and you get another chance, but we need to get better in tournament mode.

“Hopefully the guys will be more relaxed and that will lead to them playing their best cricket.

“And in the absolute worst-case scenario, they need to remember that life goes on and it doesn’t mean they’ll be a failure for the rest of their life,” he said

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