Proteas pleased with ‘near-perfect’ performance against Australia

While they admitted there might be areas where they could improve even further, senior Proteas players felt they had produced a “near-perfect” game against Australia on Thursday.

After securing a convincing 102-run win over Sri Lanka in their opening Cricket World Cup match last week, the SA team dominated again in a 134-run victory over Australia in their second fixture in Lucknow.

Opening batter Quinton de Kock made his second successive century, contributing 109 runs to lay the foundation of their innings. Kagiso Rabada then led the bowling attack, returning 3/33 after having two decisions overturned with successful reviews.

“I’d be really greedy if I said there were areas to improve. It was a near-perfect game with the bat and with the ball, looking at all the phases,” said Proteas captain Temba Bavuma.

“The guys dominated and showed their skills. I’ve got to acknowledge the batting effort, being over-par, and we were clinical with the new ball. Then KG (Rabada) following up with intensity, then the spinners.

“Character is the biggest thing we talk about, and we showed it today.”

Fast bowler Rabada agreed they had played “nearly the perfect game of cricket”.

‘Areas to improve’

He also felt, however, that there were ways they could raise the standard of their game even more as the global showpiece gained momentum.

“There will always be areas to improve in the game of cricket,” Rabada said.

“We’ll do our analysis and we’ll see how we want to move forward.”

Following their great start to the tournament, Rabada cautioned that the Proteas could not get carried away. He said it was important for them to regather after each match and focus on the next task at hand.

Up next, the Proteas were set to face the Netherlands on Tuesday, and he warned that they would need to be ready to avoid an upset.

“We’re looking to rock up the next game,” said the experienced seamer.

“We’ll see how we feel we want to improve, look at our strengths, look at our weaknesses and look to brush up. But generally, I think we played nearly the perfect game of cricket, so it’s just about leaving this behind and focusing on the next game.”