De Villiers vows South Africa will ‘come out firing’

Captain confirms Steyn’s availability for must-win game against WI today.

South Africa face West Indies today in the two teams’ last Group B match with the winner rewarded with a place in the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy.

With India already through and Pakistan eliminated, today’s match, which could be affected by rain, will determine the top two teams from Group B that will play the semi-finals starting June 19.

Should rain have the final say, South Africa will go through virtue of a better net run-rate but captain AB de Villiers said he is not thinking about the weather and was only focused on winning the game.

“I’m not too fussed about that,” he said ahead of the crucial clash, according to the ICC website. “Whether we play a shortened game or a normal game, it’s all about focus and team intensity.

“I just think it’s really important to keep the focus. We’re here to win, no matter what happens, the rain is out of our control, so we’ll focus on good cricket whether it’s a 20-over game or a 50-over game.”



He also confirmed the availability of strike-bowler Dale Steyn, a timely boost for a side plagued by inconsistent bowling.

“Steyn bowled at a 100 percent intensity yesterday, and it was the first part of his fitness assessment and he’s doing a bit more now. He’s 99.9 percent ready, but we’re just going to make sure that he’ll be ready to go. It’s almost a yes, just not yet. Just got to wait a few hours and then we’ll make the final call this afternoon, but it’s looking good.”

The wicket-keeper batsman said they acknowledge the danger West Indies star Chris Gayle poses, but insists they have plans in place.

“He’s been playing really good cricket of late. So he’s definitely a guy we’ll be looking at. We’ve been assessing all of their players. They’ve got quite a few dangerous players on the team.

“We’ve got our game plan sorted, strategies in place, and we’ll do a bit more and come out firing.”

Must-win game more exciting: Bravo

On the other hand, West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo said the match against the Proteas is ‘like a quarter-final’ and his team relishes such must-win situations.

“Such situations make the game more exciting,” said the all-rounder. “That is something we love as players. It’s one of the reasons we play the game to become competitive and trust in our skills and our teammates.

“Whenever we’re in a position that is a must win situation, we all come together and bring our best game. That is all I can ask for from the team. We have had a good preparation, and we are looking forward to the challenge again and hopefully we will come out on top.”

Bravo also downplayed the threat of Steyn, who could feature in his first Champions Trophy match today.

“We’re not really concerned if he plays or not,” he said. “We know he’s going to be a bonus for them, and we respect him as a player. At the same time, we have the right balance on our team to counter any opposition, any attack.

“I, as a player, would like to see him playing again from one player to the next, but, yes, we are not really too concerned about whether he plays or not,” added Bravo.

“He’s a world class bowler and we respect him, no doubt about that. We’re going to embrace the challenge if he’s playing and look forward to a great contest. It’s going to be nice if he can play and to actually win a game at full strength.

“We know he’s going to be a handful. We’re not going to try to erase that. But like I said, we have the right players in our setup to take on any attack that South Africa come with.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2013.