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Twice during the last ICC tournament in Sri Lanka, AB de Villiers evoked
the most taboo word in the South Africa cricket lexicon, unprovoked.
Perhaps in an attempt to redefine the word, or maybe feeling that
acceptance of it would bring progress, he spoke of previous South
African teams having "choked" at the pre-tournament press conference in
Colombo. He was keen to impress then that the team that had arrived at
the World Twenty20 had made a clear break from that past. Funnily
enough, three weeks later, he was using that same word to describe South
Africa's loss to Pakistan.
In London, de Villiers did not embrace the tag quite as zealously, but
that hardly means South Africa are paying little heed to the mental side
of their game. As in last year's English summer,
when South Africa captured the Test mace, they have been working with
explorer Mike Horn, who, having also worked with the India team prior to their 2011 World Cup triumph, is quickly gaining a reputation as the world's preeminent cricket whisperer.
Before they arrived in England, South Africa had spent five days in Amsterdam, where they played Netherlands
in an ODI as part of their preparation. "When we arrived there, the
weather was quite bad and we were very worried about the preparation we
were going to get in," de Villers said. "But it actually turned out to
be a great week for us. We had a nice run in with Mike Horn, a very good
fitness day and basically saw the whole of Amsterdam on bicycle, rowing
and on foot. It was a great experience, and we learned a lot from him."
For the first time in years, however, South Africa have arrived at a
major tournament with a side that may not, on paper, be one of the
tournament frontrunners. A pace attack featuring Dale Steyn, Morne
Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe looks as menacing as any in the country, but
without
Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis in the squad, the top order appears to
lack solidity. But perhaps, free of the mental baggage of previous
campaigns, the fresh faces who have replaced the old hands can provide
the antidote for South Africa's big-tournament ailment.
"Graeme and Jacques will be missed experience wise," de Villiers said.
"They've played for a long time. But I like to look at things in a
positive way. There is a lot of energy coming in a guy like David
Miller. We saw him in many games in the IPL, and he brings a lot of
confidence to the team. To have an added number six or seven that can
win a game from anywhere is great."
England's early-summer pitches may ply South Africa's fast bowlers with
helpful wickets, but the attack once again looks light on spin, with
left-armers Robin Peterson and Aaron Phangiso providing the slow-bowling
options. De Villiers did not believe his side's spin bowling to be a
weakness, and given Peterson's agreeable record in England, where he
averages 21.71 in five matches, perhaps his faith is not misguided.
"I believe Robin is a very good spin bowler. He's been around a long
time. He's actually surprised a lot of people in the last few years with
the amount of wickets he's taken. He's a wicket taker for us, so that
always makes him a dangerous bowler. It's just a matter of me finding
the right time for the spinners to have the biggest impact on the game."
The Champions Trophy will be coach Gary Kirsten's last
assignment in charge. He had scripted the side's rise to the top of the
Test rankings. In addition to also having won the World Cup with India,
de Villiers said he deserved nothing less than a triumphant finish with
the team.
"It would be nice to give him a good farewell. He's been a great coach
to us. We've learned a hell of a lot from him in the few years that he's
been our coach. He's more like a mentor on the team. I find it funny
calling him coach because no one calls him coach. He's almost like one
of our friends and a mentor kind of guy that's really managed the team
very, very well."
South Africa play Pakistan in a warm-up match at the Oval on Monday, and will begin their tournament against India on Thursday.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. He tweets here
Feeds: Andrew Fidel Fernando
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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