ICC World Cup 2019 | Everyone has written South Africa off, our backs are against the wall, says Faf du Plessis

06/15/2019

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis stated that the country needs to win all five of their remaining games at any cost after their extremely poor start to the World Cup campaign has left them reeling. He went on to say that with a bit of inspiration, his side can be a force to reckon with.

South Africa has never had a great World Cup record. Even though a global force in world cricket for as long as one can remember, the country has always messed up on the big stage and has never been able to lift the trophy. And on top of all that, this has been the worst ever start to a World Cup campaign from the Proteas, having failed to win even one of their first four matches. However, the captain believes it’s time to push that thought out of the mind and move on.

“Week one was a bad start to the tournament but that’s done now. We’ve got to put all our energy and focus into the now and what’s coming up next. I truly believe that if we carry those ghosts of the last week with us it’s going to be tough to get out of the hole,” he told reporters, reported AFP.

The skipper however believes he has been able to positively motivate his troops enough for the remainder of their campaign and has them in high spirits.

“But the conversations in the last couple of days, especially with all the rain around, has given me more time to make sure that the guys are on the right path,” du Plessis remarked.

After having lost to India, England and Bangladesh, their previous match against the West Indies was abandoned due to rain, meaning the Proteas will have to win their remaining games in some style to improve their net run rate and have any hope of qualifying for the semi finals.

“We’ve got to win the five games and that clarity is what we’re trying to achieve. There was a bit of space for us to make a mistake here or there before, but now everyone has written the team off, our backs are against the wall. Hopefully, that allows the guys to play the way that we can, and I truly believe that if we do that we’ll be a very dangerous team,” the batsman concluded.

South Africa will face Afghanistan in what is an all important clash for both the teams at Sophia Gardens today.