Temba Bavuma urges South Africa to demonstrate “intent” in the ICC World Cup 2023 while maintaining “no room for complacency”

Temba Bavuma, the captain of South Africa, emphasized the importance of entering the 2023 ODI World Cup with the proper mindset. He wants his team to maintain that momentum.

The Proteas batting squad has been trying to put the opposition under strain with aggressive hitting, Captain Bavuma remarked, emphasizing the term “intent”.

“Our top six hitters have all been striking out more often, if you look at them. For us, it all comes down to purpose, searching for chances to put the bowlers under strain, and certainly supporting our abilities. Nothing will change heading into the World Cup, and we’ll go in the same manner, Bavuma stated during the pre-game press conference.

For the duration of the 2023 World Cup, the Proteas have been excellent. In the first game in Delhi, they first scored more than 400 runs against Sri Lanka, then in the subsequent game in Lucknow, they scored 311/7 against Australia.

In addition to these figures, three of the top five hitters in the competition with the highest strike rate are South Africans.

Additionally, Bavuma wants his team, particularly the hitters, to play the similar style of cricket against the Netherlands.

“We’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing. We’ll take it one game at a time. Every game will provide a unique set of possibilities and difficulties. Nothing will change when we face the Netherlands tomorrow. We will evaluate and play as necessary. Naturally, winning our first two games in a row is a wonderful start for us. We’ll simply strive to keep improving and maintain the momentum, he said.

No space for laziness

The 2022 T20 World Cup saw Netherlands pull off an upset over the Proteas, and Bavuma is still very aware of that match.

The Proteas aim to sustain the level of play they shown during the home series against the Dutch earlier this year in March and April and are not in the mood to be complacent in this game.

“We treat them with the respect they deserve. We are aware that they are a well-prepared team with all the bases covered. Therefore, we must ensure that we follow suit. The most essential thing is that we just maintain supporting our efforts. Therefore, nobody is taking the game for granted and there is no complacency. We played the Netherlands at home the previous time we played them, and we needed those points to qualify for the World Cup. Our performances were quite professional, said Bavuma.

At the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on Tuesday, South Africa will take on the Netherlands with the goal of improving their standing on the points chart.