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AB de Villiers
has predicted a stream of South African success at major tournaments,
which he hopes will start next month. The ODI captain did not remember
that his countrymen captured the inaugural Champions Trophy but is confident they can claim the last and many others after that.
"We haven't won an ICC trophy yet even though we are the No.1 Test team
in the world but I've got a feeling there are a few to come in the next
few years" he told Dutch radio NOS in Amsterdam, where the South African
squad have set up camp. "We are just going to have to wait patiently.
We are doing the small things right. The work ethic is there, the talent
is there and the belief is there, so we've just got to go out there and
give it our best shot."
De Villiers is the first member of the South Africa group to make public
the team's real expectations of the Champions Trophy, after Gary
Kirsten played down their chances
on their departure. As suspected, South Africa have every intention of
discarding their chokers' tag in England and are feeling the heat as the
event gets closer.
"There is always some pressure," de Villiers said. "We are a very
talented cricketing nation and we understand there are some
responsibilities in performance. We would love to say we are just going
to go and enjoy it but it's more complicated than that. We've got to win
some big games and we would love to win the trophy. I think we are
preparing in the right way."
In an attempt to replicate the success on last year's Test tour of England, when South Africa claimed the Test championship mace,
Kirsten has taken the squad to Amsterdam. They met up with explorer
Mike Horn and did a cycle and canoe tour of the city before getting down
to the business of net sessions.
Wet weather has not dampened South Africa's plans. Despite 42mm of rain
falling on Wednesday night, the groundstaff was able to dry the surface
sufficiently for practice to get under way as planned at 10am on
Thursday. That was the last training session before an ODI against the
Netherlands tomorrow, the first of two warm-up matches before the
tournament starts.
The fixture against the Netherlands is a particularly important one because it will be the first time in 67 days
that South Africa will take the field as a team. It will also be the
first opportunity for nine of their squad to get game time after a break
of almost two months.
JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis (both because of injury), Rory Kleinveldt,
Hashim Amla, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Farhaan Behardien, Lonwabo
Tsotsobe and Colin Ingram have not played any cricket since the end of
the South African season. The rest will be relied on to bring "match
intensity," Kirsten said. De Villiers, David Miller, Dale Steyn, Morne
Morkel and Ryan McLaren were in action at the IPL and while Alviro
Petersen played in England.
While much of the focus has been on the batsmen, and the middle order in
particular, South Africa will also want their quicks to find their
rhythm quickly. Both Kleinveldt and Peterson expect the tournament to be
more of a bowler-headlined spectacle because of the time of year, the
conditions and the opposition.
"I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few low scoring games,"
Kleinveldt said. "I watched the Test and saw Jimmy Anderson swinging it.
There should be plenty for the bowlers."
And Peterson believes South Africa's bowlers in particular will benefit.
"Dale and Morne looked really impressive in the IPL." he said. "With
two new white balls and India and West Indies in our group, we can do
well. Their batting line-ups tend to dominate more on subcontinental
surfaces."
Steyn and Morkel may be rested for the Holland match so South Africa can
ensure all parts of their machine are working as they should be before
they head to England. But they also know they will not be able to get
away with a below-par performance against a much lower-ranked team.
They've done their homework on the Dutch. Netherlands batsman Stephan Myburgh
is a former schoolmate of de Villiers' and the brother of Johann
Myburgh, who played for the Titans in South Africa before moving to New
Zealand.
"I know Stephan from the age of nine," de Villiers said. "I am very
happy for him that he got his chance to play international cricket, I am
very proud of the fact that he did that because I know that was always a
dream of his. He probably didn't get his break in South Africa and he
couldn't find a way into the Titans.
"He was quite young when he took a chance to come over here and saw
opportunity to play international cricket and took it with both hands.
You've got to do what you've got to do," he said. "Back home competition
is quite tough and he just didn't get his chance when he was young. You
never know, if he stuck it out for a few more years… but he will be
proud of the fact that he is playing international cricket and I am
proud he has achieved that."
Coming up against a former countryman who has crossed borders is not new
to South Africa and it has ensured they see familiar faces almost
everywhere they go. That may be one of the reasons de Villiers said the
squad "could not have asked for a better place to prepare before the big
tournament." Next week will be an opportunity for them to show whether
the effort paid off.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent
Feeds: Firdose Moonda
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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