Proteas Captain Temba Bavuma said the team is in good spirits ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy on Friday in Karachi, Pakistan, despite displaying poor performances in recent matches.
The team has been on a six-match winless streak and last won an ODI match against Ireland in October last year.
But Bavuma is confident that the team will do better and not under pressure from its critics, when they face Afghanistan in their opening match on Friday in Karachi.
“I think with this group from a confidence point of view, I believe that it is still up there.
Really for us as a group now is to connect strongly again, to remind ourselves about how we want to play our cricket and to play at our best.
This is a group of guys who’ve been with each other for the past four five years.
I don’t think there any type of baggage coming into this tournament as a group, we are looking forward to playing our best cricket,” said Bavuma.
The Proteas recently lost two of its matches against New Zealand and Pakistan in a Tri-Series tournament.
According to Bavuma, many lessons were learnt during the matches, and it was also important for the team to get a proper understanding of the conditions.
“We saw how tough it was at times to get 10 wickets, and obviously as bowlers, we’ve spoken about different plans and if there’s’ a need to change our approach.
From a batting point of view, understanding the importance of runs on the board, and allowing scoreboard we’ve also focused on the importance of runs and the scoreboard pressure it creates,” explained Bavuma.
The captain highlighted that all team members have arrived in Pakistan in high spirits, and looking forward to Friday’s opener.
The team is however sweating over the fitness level of bowler Lungi Ngidi, who recently returned to the team following months of injuries and out of favour with the selectors.
“”He’s been out of action for a couple of months now, either through injuries or being out of favour from a selection point of view.
He’s one of the guys who feeds off confidence from guys around him.
We’ve never felt that it’s a skill or a talent thing when it comes to Lungi, its merely a confidence thing,” remarked the captain.
The team is also without the services of fast bowlers Gerald Coetzee and Anrich Nortje due to injuries.
The Proteas are in Group B with Afghanistan, Australia and England.
