South Africa’s Method for Success in 2019 Cricket World Cup
There is a Cricket World Cup at stake in 2019. However, if South Africa is under any additional pressure, it will not be from inside the team. As his squad prepares to make their way to England where they won’t be considered the favourites to win this tournament for once, Faf du Plessis won’t be demanding anything extravagant from his team this time around.
Instead, he believes that sticking to what worked for them in the past and focusing on enjoying the tournament after a summer where they managed to win 11 games from 13 ODI’s and defeating Australia 2-1 away, will offer an exact formula for success.
South Africa’s Chances in the 2019 Cricket World Cup
In previous cricket world cups, South Africa wanted to deliver superhuman performances. They were under the impression that they had to provide something extraordinary and had to, which was not the outcome in the previous two World Cup tournaments. South Africa is not known for playing the best cricket when it comes to the World Cup tournaments because they place too much pressure on themselves, which isn’t necessary.
Seven team members of the squad that are making their way to England this year formed part of the World Cup team in 2015 when New Zealand defeated the side with four wickets in hand during the semi-finals. Dale Steyn, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Hashim Amla, and Faf du Plessis were also part of the team during the 2011 World Cup when they were second best during another nail-biting contest with New Zealand.
Faf du Plessis as Captain
Faf du Plessis is regarded as a thinking captain but can also be considered a feeling captain at the same time. Instead of shying away from the pressures that are coupled with competition on an international level, he urges his team to look at things positively. He also hasn’t been afraid of discussing this with the media in terms of the mental aspect.
He recently informed reporters that the South African cricket team started preparing over two years ago to get their mental preparation in order. This is one area that du Plessis believes the team can improve on when compared to previous World Cup encounters. He is someone that has been to several World Cup tournaments and is well aware of the pressures that come with it. This is one reason why he believes that the South African cricket team of 2019 should play more freely and enjoy themselves as opposed to feeling too much pressure and failing horribly.
Faf du Plessis’s new approach will also get noticed when it comes to selecting the South African squad during the tournament. He believes that the team should be picked according to their performance and experience. The squad decision is going to be made during the two warm-up matches based on form.