AB calls for more commitment

Standard Bank Proteas captain, AB de Villiers, has asked for a ‘better team performance’ ahead of the sixth match of the Tri-Nation One-Day International (ODI) series against the West Indies in St Kitts on Wednesday. Although the batting collapse in the loss to Australia was the glaring let down, the skipper believes the team can improve in all disciplines for the all-important clash at Warner Park.

“We need a better team performance, that is the word that stands out for me, us operating as a team,” he said to the media at Warner Park on Tuesday. “We didn’t do that well in the last match, if we get that right against the West Indies I believe we will come out on top.”   

De Villiers hinted at the possibility of team changes for the match, and stressed the importance of unpredictability in selection while finding the critical balance based on the opposition and conditions. The selectors have a fully fit squad with Chris Morris recovering from injury and Dean Elgar slotting in following Rilee Rossouw’s injury.

“I’m a big believer that in a series like this, where there are three different teams and venues, you have to chop and change as you go on,” he explained. “You have to try and be unpredictable but at the same time obtain some consistency in your performances.

“We have let ourselves down a few times with our performances, but I have enjoyed the way we have changed the balance of the side. I feel all of the guys who have come in have performed well individually, but I still feel that as a team we haven’t clicked well yet. That will be our focus for tomorrow, just really operating and gelling together, if we do that I believe we’ll play those pressure situations much better.”  

The captain is cautious of a confident home team that has built some consistency in performances over the last few months, and says his team will have to put in their most complete performance of the series to keep up with the rest of the pack on the log.  

“They are not as unpredictable as they used to be, they have become a good ODI unit,” De Villiers said. “They seem to know exactly what they are doing, they have world-class players in both their batting and bowling line-ups. They are a force, especially in their home conditions, they know what to expect and how to handle the various conditions that we are faced with here.”