Cricket World Cup: Temba Bavuma backs Proteas to handle pressure ahead of opener
By
SABC Sport
6th October 2023
Proteas captain Temba Bavuma has backed his team to handle the pressure of a World Cup campaign ahead their tournament opener against Sri Lanka in Delhi on Saturday.
Bavuma and his side are the latest Proteas outfit trying to claim a maiden title at the global tournament after some heartbreaking near-misses in the past.
The criticism of previous South African teams at ICC events is that they always cracked and fell apart once the pressure was ramped up.
Bavuma fronted up to the media for the pre-match press-conference on Friday and stated that he feels the Proteas have the resilience in their squad to forge a successful campaign in India.
The skipper said: "I think for us, the biggest thing is our character. You'll hear a lot of guys speak about our resilience. I think that's something that really stands for us in good point.
"There's also a willingness or desire from guys to put in the big performances for the team. That's at least something that I felt in the last couple of months.
"So, I think that's something that we will be leaning towards, guys not shying away from those pressure moments, going towards them, and really grabbing the opportunity or the game by the scruff of its neck."
Bavuma also revealed that a big focus for the players will be to have a good start to the tournament, but they need to find the balance of peaking at the right time.
The Proteas have been notorious slow starters in bilateral series in years gone by - they came back from 2-0 down to win the most recent ODI series 3-2 at home against Australia before jetting off to India.
Bavuma's charges must first navigate nine league matches in the 10-team tournament with the top four qualifying for the semifinals.
"In terms of starting well, that has always been a focal area around us as a team. We've spoken a lot about that," Bavuma said.
"We've tried to find practical ways as to how we can start well. We haven't always started well to be honest but the focus and the awareness is there.
"Like I said, with the World Cup and playing each team once, any team can win on the day, so if you're not there on the day, you can get caught with your pants down."
