Chasing World Cup glory, the Proteas should be feeling more pressure

Ahead of their Cricket World Cup match against India at the weekend, the SA team were calm and confident. Maybe a little too calm and a little too confident.

Preparing to face the hosts at a packed Eden Gardens, the magnitude of the game was evident for anyone who follows the sport.

Granted, both teams had already qualified for the semi-finals, but favourable log positions were still up for grabs. In addition, the match offered an opportunity for one of the top two teams in the tournament to gain another confidence boost going into next week’s playoffs.

Despite all of this, however, the Proteas players seemed completely unfazed. Asked if they were feeling additional pressure before the match, senior members of the squad almost brushed it off.

We heard bland, cliched comments like “it’s just another game” and “we will follow our usual processes”. It was almost like they had no idea how big of an occasion they were facing.

India, on the other hand, were clearly up for it, attacking from the start with bat and all. It was a complete demolition.

No pressure

After the match, head coach Rob Walter admitted the Proteas hadn’t seemed to be feeling any more pressure than they had experienced ahead of the rest of their first-round matches.

Perhaps that’s the problem. They really should have felt the pressure, and it should have had them on their toes, ensuring they approached the match with sufficient intensity.

Looking ahead, they cannot afford any complacency in the World Cup playoffs. If they don’t hit it hard from the start of their semi-final (and potentially the final) they are likely to be thumped again, and feeling internal pressure is going to be important to ensure they don’t take their foot off the pedal.

Pressure can be debilitating, but complacency can be even worse. Hopefully the SA team learn from their failure at the weekend, and hopefully their hearts are pumping when they step on the field for their remaining fixtures.

If they lose in the semi-finals, it’s not the end of the world, but if they get crushed without putting up a fight, they’ll have a lot of explaining to do. And bland, cliched responses about “following processes” won’t be sufficient.