No team can match us, boasts South Africa star Steyn

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Fast bowler Dale Steyn has delivered a 2009 ICC Champions Trophy challenge by saying no team will match hosts South Africa in the two-week tournament starting on Tuesday. More...

[Sachinism]

I agree, no team can match the quality of players they have. But its about whether you choke or not

[Dinx - the Jinx]

Agreed that no team can match them. Australie and India come close though... However, any team can beat them on their day including Windies... Question to Mr. Steyn - How many semi finals / finals has this world beating team won in the last 10 years?

[Sachinism]

Agreed that no team can match them. Australie and India come close though... However, any team can beat them on their day including Windies... Question to Mr. Steyn - How many semi finals / finals has this world beating team won in the last 10 years?[/QUOTE] I'm sure he is refering to the current side.

[Dinx - the Jinx]

^ Agreed. But the South African side has looked formidable at any world championship... they were joint favorites for the 1996, 1999 world cups and several other CTs and multi team tournaments. as far as I can recollect, they have won the first ever CT in 1998. Apart from that they have just been pre tournament favorites. never won anything substantial... it will serve them better if the south african refrain themselves from giving interviews like this ( claiming that they are not chokers anymore etc). Let them first prove themselves on the field by winning atleast 1 major tournament and then start bragging...

[vvvslaxman]

It is not even joke anymore. It is so predictable. They are going to lose this time as well.

[Sachinism]

It is not even joke anymore. It is so predictable. They are going to lose this time as well.

HAHAHA If you just go through that squad, makes you think how anyone can beat them? But I guess they'll do it themselves lol

[Sooda]

Different unit under Smith, pretty much a completely new bunch so itll be interesting to see how they fare.

[gaurav92]

remember their biggest choke against india in premadasa in CT 02/03 they had just thrown it away.. dont boast too much dale coz u havent yet won it u may say we are good but not that others cant match on other day u may just see saffers going back out in the prelimnary stage losing to nz and eng :(( but i have bought them in SBL so i hope they perform well neways

[EnterTheVoid]

[The Outsider]

Reminds me of Smith's bravado before the '07 Semi Final when McGrath finished off the match in 5-6 overs.

[gaurav92]

yup shwetabh quite rite

[Ram]

I remember Graeme Smith’s post match interview after the loss that eliminated them in the WC t20 match in South Africa in ’07. He was distraught that the whole thing that was set-up in such a way that the only unbeaten team thus far in the competition, got knocked out after a single loss. They cant muddle up important matches forever. At some point, their fortunes will turn. This may just be their moment.

[Guest Hiten.]

This is certainly not for the first time RSA is starting as an outright winners of the tournament but they (in)ability to justify their tag of tournament favorites raises a doubt in everyone's mind. Heck, I think RSA players tend to give such interviews to motivate themselves and distract their minds from the fact that they are not so strong in a bunch despite being great individual talent in ICC events. May the better team win and let that better team be India :D :isalute:

[The Outsider]

I remember Graeme Smith’s post match interview after the loss that eliminated them in the WC t20 match in South Africa in ’07. He was distraught that the whole thing that was set-up in such a way that the only unbeaten team thus far in the competition, got knocked out after a single loss. They cant muddle up important matches forever. At some point, their fortunes will turn. This may just be their moment.

That was just uber whining from Smith - firstly they had prepared a green top for the match against India and it wasn't that they would be knocked out if they just lost. There was a certain target at which they would have qualified for the semis, but they could not even do that on a designer wicket. :hysterical:

[Guest Hiten.]

That was just uber whining from Smith - firstly they had prepared a green top for the match against India and it wasn't that they would be knocked out if they just lost. There was a certain target at which they would have qualified for the semis' date=' but they could not even do that on a designer wicket. :hysterical:[/quote'] They couldn't manage to score 120 to qualify on the basis of net run rate :hehe:

[Ram]

That was just uber whining from Smith - firstly they had prepared a green top for the match against India and it wasn't that they would be knocked out if they just lost. There was a certain target at which they would have qualified for the semis' date=' but they could not even do that on a designer wicket. :hysterical:[/quote'] Come on, you have to sympathize with him at least a little bit. All four semi-finalists in that tournament had a prior loss in the tournament (including Australia, who actually lost to Zimbabwe), but South Africa, which had simply annihilated the opposition till then, got knocked out because of one bad innings? And it wasn’t even the knock-out stage.

[patriot]

Come on' date=' you have to sympathize with him at least a little bit. All four semi-finalists in that tournament had a prior loss in the tournament (including Australia, who actually lost to Zimbabwe), but South Africa, which had simply annihilated the opposition till then, got knocked out because of one bad innings? And it wasn’t even the knock-out stage.[/quote'] Sympathize for what...we have been pretty much like them....reaching finals with ease and then saving our worst for the finals . Its cost us about 16-17 finals since 1999.

[Aadhavzone]

all the best RSA!

[Guest Hiten.]

Come on' date=' you have to sympathize with him at least a little bit. All four semi-finalists in that tournament had a prior loss in the tournament (including Australia, who actually lost to Zimbabwe), but South Africa, which had simply annihilated the opposition till then, got knocked out because of one bad innings? And it wasn’t even the knock-out stage.[/quote'] Being a professional team they cannot goof up in their calculations in such big events (first it was WC 2003 against SL and now against us). They were never the outright group winners (in super 6) and had to score a particular score for them to qualify (based upon India's first innings total). RSA should have at least played to reach that target first in order to qualify and then worry about the game's result. No sympathy there, they simply got too cocky on that occasion.