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JP apologises to SA fans after Proteas' dismal CWC

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JP Duminy (AP)
JP Duminy (AP)

Durham - The backlash from South Africa following the Proteas' dismal World Cup campaign has been understandably brutal, and JP Duminy took time on Thursday to apologise to the nation. 

South Africa, with one win from seven outings at the 2019 showpiece, have already been mathematically eliminated from the tournament despite having two matches left to play. 

Friday's clash against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street will be followed by a trip to Manchester to take on Australia, but nothing that happens in either of those matches will detract from what has been South Africa's worst ever performance at a Cricket World Cup.

Duminy, who will retire from ODI cricket at the end of the tournament, is expected to play against Sri Lanka with David Miller out injured. 

He has not gone out the way he would have liked. 

Scores of 8, 45 and 3 in the first three matches saw Duminy dropped, and he has not featured in South Africa's last four World Cup fixtures. 

He remains a senior member of the side, though, and at Thursday's pre-match press conference he took the time to apologise to the fans back home on behalf of the team. 

"I think the most disappointing part has been our team performance and I think it will be amiss of me not to mention how disappointed we are, particularly letting all our fans down back home," he said.

"It's been pretty dismal from our part and we wish we could point out the reason why we haven't performed.

"I think we've put in a lot of effort in terms of our preparation, in terms of our strategy, going out there with a good mindset, a strong mindset.

"We obviously want to apologise to the public and the South African fans for letting them down."

It was a heart-felt apology from Duminy, who will still be available for international T20 cricket at the end of the tournament. 

"When you represent your country, it is always a proud moment and you understand that you represent 50, 60 million people, that is a proud moment in itself," he said.

"And when you put in performances like that, you in a way almost feel ashamed of that.

"But we know that it's not all lost ... I believe that this team will come back stronger."

Play on Friday starts at 11:30 (SA time). 

@LloydBurnard is in England covering the 2019 Cricket World Cup for Sport24 ... 

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