'We're not going to choke' - de Villiers

[vvvslaxman]

http://www.sport24.co.za/Cricket/CricketWorldCup2015/SA-wont-choke-vows-AB-20150317 'SA won't choke', vows AB Sydney - South Africa captain AB de Villiers insisted his side will not choke when they try to end their Cricket World Cup knockout misery in a Sydney quarter-final with Sri Lanka on Wednesday. The Proteas have never won a World Cup knockout match since their tournament debut in 1992, with a series of near-misses leaving them with the unwanted tag of "chokers". But for De Villiers, history really is all in the past. "All I can say is we're not going to choke tomorrow (Wednesday). We're going to play a good game of cricket and come out on top. Simple," he told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday. "How do we approach it? We think we've just got to try and play a good game of cricket," the in-form batsman, whose last appearance at the SCG saw him score a stunning 162 not out against the West Indies in the pool stage. "I think it's important to focus on what we've been doing well and try and do that tomorrow (Wednesday). We have certain strengths we like to focus on and not focus too much on the opposition. "We've got to (keep things) as simple as possible. Strike with the new ball, try and bowl them out, if we bat first get a big total and put them under pressure." South Africa, like Sri Lanka, won four and lost two of their pool matches, with the Proteas beaten by 130 runs by defending champions India and going down by 29 runs to Pakistan. "I don't believe we've been awful, I feel we've had had a pretty decent tournament so far, finished second in the log (Pool)," said De Villiers. "We had a tough game against India, where things could have been different, I believe. "That's about it. Other than that, we've played some good cricket. Against Pakistan, I wasn't too upset about that except for the fact we didn't show enough fight with the bat. But we bowled exceptionally well. "We have to win tomorrow. We've lost two games (but) we are pretty much on track. "That's what it comes down to, no one is going to ask us if we played exceptional cricket when we win the World Cup. We are just going to say that 'we won the Cup'. "So we just want to find a way to win the game tomorrow (Wednesday)." South Africa, often accused of being excessively tense in big games, didn't train on Tuesday. "I just felt it was important not to focus too much on cricket today, sort of get the brain switched off a little bit before the big clash," said De Villiers. "It's important for us to be fresh. I believe we play really good cricket when we're mentally fresh, and we play those pressure situations so much better." Some have tried to bill the match as a contest between De Villiers and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, who comes into the match having scored a record four successive one-day international hundreds. "To be very honest, and I hope you don't take it the wrong way, I couldn't care less about him or me. I just want to win the game of cricket tomorrow," said the 31-year-old. "If it's our No 11 batsman tomorrow (Wednesday) who wins the game for us, so be it. I just want to find a way to win." As for South Africa's failure to win a World Cup knockout match, De Villiers said: "We can't focus on what happened back in the day. We can just work with what we've got right now. "I'm the captain, and I want to lead by example. And I believe the guys will follow."

[vvvslaxman]

As usual don't miss the comment section lol Uwe Bobs - March 17, 2015 at 01:07Report commentComments Policy When they talk like this ... I get worried! THATS when they choke ! ?? :hysterical:

[Cricket_Hacker]

k.

[vvvslaxman]

Their past "we won't choke " vows http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/we-won-t-choke-duminy-1.1028693 We won't choke - Duminy

[rkt.india]

Already putting pressure on themselves with all these statements like we wont choke. So, they accept they are chokers.

[flamy]

Unnecessary pressure on themselves. But, I guess some reporter pointedly asked the 'choke' question and he had to reply.

[BlueBee]

They put pressure on themselves by saying this. This will be always on their mind when they play, they won't be able to focus wholly on the game. Actually that comment VVS posted is spot on.

[Pakistan]

It would be a choke from Sri Lanka if they do not win their QF after all they are T20 World Cup champions and runners up of previous two ODI world cups.

[Roshanrocks]

It would be a choke from Sri Lanka if they do not win their QF after all they are T20 World Cup champions and runners up of previous two ODI world cups.

well said!

[VRV Singh]

AB de Villiers has been making quite bold statements for a while now, ever since the ODI series defeat in Aus when he said SA are the best team in the world. Not sure what the thinking is behind that. Seems contrived as he doesn't seem like a brash in your face cricketer. I would've thought they'd play this sort of thing down.

[zakk]

SAF :cheer:

[bowl_out]

Putting needless pressure on themselves... How difficult is it to just say "The mood in the camp is very positive. I am sure we will go all the way". Simple, right? :dontknow:

[adi B]

ab,u cant play for others

[NareshK]

SA will smash Sri Lankans to oblivion. SL have an ordinary bowling attack. If SA bat first, I expect them to score 350.

[BeautifulGame]

SA will smash Sri Lankans to oblivion. SL have an ordinary bowling attack. If SA bat first' date=' I expect them to score 350.[/quote'] SA bowling is slightly better.But Srl batting miles better in a knock out environment

[riya]

If SA actullay wins against all the choking odds.They will be my no 1 contender for the cup..

[CricketWise]

They say the same thing before every knockout match but repeat the same mistakes and crumble under pressure!! :hysterical:

[StriKe]

'We're not going to choke' - de Villiers

As South Africa gear up for the match AB de Villiers said they have been working towards for the last "two to three years," they have come to the conclusion that they have had enough. But enough in the best way possible. "There's enough laughing, there's enough stress, there's enough nerves, there's good cricket, there's enough bad cricket. We've got a mixture of everything on the team. We've just got to find a way to win tomorrow," de Villiers said. And do something no South African team has done before. The country's history in the World Cup knockouts cannot be avoided, especially not on the eve of another match. For the squad, it means even though they may not look back on the under-achievements, others do it for them. Their choice is either to confront or avoid it, and they are doing both. The former publicly - Russell Domingo joked about the chokers tag; de Villiers recapped the blow-out in the 2007 semi-final against Australia which he put down to "over-analysis" - and the latter privately. De Villiers already has some idea of what he wants to see happen and it does not involve anything South Africa do not already do, or any outlandish demands on them. "We have certain strengths that we like to focus on. Strike with a new ball, try and bowl them out, and if we bat first, try and get a big total and put them under pressure," he said. "No one is going to ask us if we played exceptional cricket when we win the World Cup, we're just going to say that we won the Cup, so we're just going to find a way to win the game tomorrow. All I can say is we're not going to choke. We're just going to play a good game of cricket tomorrow and come out on top. Simple." On Monday night, South Africa held a festive team dinner, complete with a mock interview in which Wayne Parnell quizzed Domingo about his chances of playing - the coach confirmed he is very much in contention - and then cancelled their match-day-minus-one training session. They "played a few games in the park, had a good time and a laugh" because that's what people who have done enough work in the nets and on the field, in front of a computer screen and with a calculator, do. Everything else that needs to be done can only be done on game day. "We know exactly what's coming tomorrow. It's an important game. It's exactly what we've been working for the last two to three years. We're very prepared for this and just ready to go," de Villiers said. If that sounds a little too similar to what every South African team before this one has said, that's because it is. But de Villiers has promised there are differences. As a player, he has been in this situation twice before. Now, at his third tournament, he is the captain and has taken it on himself to set the tone. "It's partly my responsibility as a captain to lead in the way that I want the boys to go out there," he said. "The way that I show energy together with a few senior players around me and the language we use, the kind of energy we show when we walk out, the things we do and the way we lead, will make it easy for the rest of the guys to follow and see what should be happening in the quarter-finals of a World Cup." And what is it that should be happening? Explorer Mike Horn will give South Africa some answers when he gives them their pre-game pep talk. Whatever he told Germany in the lead-up to their Football World Cup final last year certainly worked. The preparation is done. The group stage is done. Even the bulk of the playing in this tournament is done. All eight teams left will hope the losing is done. And if it's not, they will know they will be done. That's really all there is to it.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/story/851305.html

[Thalaiva]

It's a given RSA are through to the final.. No one can stop them

[zen]

It's a given RSA are through to the final.. No one can stop them

:antijinx: