No pressure to get monkey off my back - AB
Proteas ODI captain AB de Villiers says he doesn't consciously feel he needs to get a big monkey off his back as South Africa head for the up-coming ICC Champions Trophy in England.
The Proteas have often been accused of 'choking' at major ICC tournaments and have often come a cropper at these money-spinning events.
De Villiers and Co. left for their tour of England on Tuesday, where they are scheduled to play three One Day Internationals against the hosts from 24 May, followed by the Champions Trophy in early June.
The South Africans have just one major title to boast of since re-admission -- the 1998 Champions Trophy in Bangladesh -- and appear to be jinxed when it comes to World Cups.
" I won't say I constantly talk about it, but it's definitely something we haven't done for a while," concedes De Villiers.
"We won it a long time ago, but how we would love to repeat that this year," he adds.
De Villiers is quick to point out that the Proteas have been playing some great cricket in the last few years after that 2015 World Cup disappointment and shot to the top of the ICC World ODI rankings.
"I think we have really raised the bar and picked ourselves up so we go there with confidence."
The burning desire to bring the trophy home clearly hasn't waned for De Villiers, who has turned his attention, for now anyway, to the shorter formats of the game.
"Yes, I have shifted my personal focus to these kind of tournaments, but it still means a lot to me to win tournaments like this," says De Villiers.
"It is a great opportunity for us as a team and for me as an individual to go out there and play some great cricket."
De Villiers says the squad has never been more balanced, but like any tournament, the key is effective adaptation to the conditions that present themselves.
"I think you get a little bit of everything in England. It is a good, balanced cricket destination where you have to cover all the bases to play a good brand of cricket."
After a lukewarm IPL campaign and a brief period where his back injury played up again, De Villiers is not at all worried about his personal form.
"I’m not worried - are you? he quipped.
" I'm really excited, hitting the ball as good as ever and there are some good scores to come."
Coach Russell Domingo shares his captain's sentiment that they boast effective combinations for all eventualities and hoped to use the three ODI's against England ahead of the Champions Trophy to give every player some valuable game time.