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Sydney - The Proteas will shut out external forces and focus on what has worked well in the past for their Cricket World Cup quarter-final match against Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Captain AB de Villiers says the occasion of the match will not change the team’s approach, as nearly two years of planning comes to its stiffest test.
“I think we've just got to try and play a good game of cricket,” De Villiers told the media on Tuesday. “I think it's important to focus on what we've been doing well and try to do that tomorrow. We have certain strengths that we like to focus on, we don’t like to focus too much on the opposition.”
The squad, particularly the senior players who have been in this situation before, are aware of the significance of the match, and will be striving to overturn the disappointment of past campaigns.
The skipper has been the standout performer for the Proteas throughout the competition, and says leading from the front will be key in spurring on his troops.
“I think it's partly my responsibility as a captain to lead 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 body language we use; the kind of energy we show when we walk out, the things we do and the way we lead I think will make it easy for the rest of the guys to follow.
“We've done it before, there's no reason why we can't do it tomorrow, it's a matter for the rest of them to follow,” he explained. “We'll have a few chats tonight. We've got (adventurer and motivational speaker) Mike Horn here, he brings great energy to the team. He'll have a bit of a chat to us about the Germans who won the World Cup not long ago, and on things that worked for them. We can maybe learn a little bit from that. Other than that, I've got to lead by example as a captain, and I believe the guys will follow.”
The squad cancelled their training session on Tuesday morning and instead took to the park for a game of volleyball and soccer, an important element of sustaining freshness and comradery.
“I'm really comfortable with where the team is at and with the form that everyone has shown,” De Villiers said. “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 tomorrow. It's important for us to be fresh. I believe we play really good cricket when we are mentally fresh, we just play those pressure situations so much better.”
