Inconsistent South Africa seek UAE boost
12 March 2015 11:12 PM GMT
An inconsistent South Africa will be looking to pull up a few loose strings against minnows UAE in their final Pool B encounter of the World Cup on Thursday. The AB de Villiers-led side, which was shocked by Pakistan in its previous encounter, have had a mixed run in the tournament so far and are lying on the second spot behind leaders India.
De Villiers though was in a bullish mood before their final pool match and insisted that despite losing to India and Pakistan, the Proteas are still the best in this edition. “It’s all positive from here on in, I still feel very confident. I believe 100 percent we’re the best team in the tournament,” De Villiers said.
The UAE tie is a must-win for the Proteas if they want to seal their second spot in the group, setting up a likely clash against Sri Lanka. UAE, who are playing their second World Cup after the 1996 edition, have been winless in their four outings so far but captain Mohammed Tauqir believes that South Africa’s 29-run loss to Pakistan gave the minnows a glimmer of hope against the big guns. “We were not expecting South Africa to lose against Pakistan, so it’s a funny game. It gave us a bit of hope. We have good bowling and fielding. If we take some early wickets they can be put under pressure. I don’t see them scoring 400 runs against us,” Tauqir said.
Lying at the bottom of the heap, UAE sure want to make a point if not for them then for all the associate nations, who are in danger of losing their World Cup berths in the next editions. Tauqir has urged the ICC to review its decision to cut the number of teams at the World Cup from 14 to 10 in 2019. “That’s not good news for our cricket... the World Cup is an ultimate goal, to participate in this event,” he said.
De Villiers though was in a bullish mood before their final pool match and insisted that despite losing to India and Pakistan, the Proteas are still the best in this edition. “It’s all positive from here on in, I still feel very confident. I believe 100 percent we’re the best team in the tournament,” De Villiers said.
The UAE tie is a must-win for the Proteas if they want to seal their second spot in the group, setting up a likely clash against Sri Lanka. UAE, who are playing their second World Cup after the 1996 edition, have been winless in their four outings so far but captain Mohammed Tauqir believes that South Africa’s 29-run loss to Pakistan gave the minnows a glimmer of hope against the big guns. “We were not expecting South Africa to lose against Pakistan, so it’s a funny game. It gave us a bit of hope. We have good bowling and fielding. If we take some early wickets they can be put under pressure. I don’t see them scoring 400 runs against us,” Tauqir said.
Lying at the bottom of the heap, UAE sure want to make a point if not for them then for all the associate nations, who are in danger of losing their World Cup berths in the next editions. Tauqir has urged the ICC to review its decision to cut the number of teams at the World Cup from 14 to 10 in 2019. “That’s not good news for our cricket... the World Cup is an ultimate goal, to participate in this event,” he said.
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