South Africa has once again experienced knockout stage disappointment at an ICC event. However, head coach Rob Walter believes that the team is progressing in the right direction as they look ahead to the ODI World Cup in two years. This sentiment comes after South Africa’s semifinal defeat in the Champions Trophy in Lahore.
Despite topping their group, South Africa fell short against New Zealand in the second semifinal in Lahore on Wednesday night, losing by 50 runs while chasing a target of 362. Walter stated that there are still positives to take away from the tournament, despite the tough loss.
In the post-match press conference, Walter commented, “In our victories, we managed to build significant partnerships, and we had players making valuable contributions with the bat. From a bowling perspective, our accuracy has improved considerably. We’ve become a much more accurate seam bowling unit.”
He added, “This improved accuracy is something we’ve been diligently working on. Every match is a learning opportunity, and we continuously try to learn from each game. Today’s lesson is particularly tough because it signifies the end of our campaign.”
“But we are committed to continuous learning and improvement in all aspects of our game. We are still developing as a team, and we are definitely focused on the 2027 World Cup which is two and a half years away,” he concluded.
The 2027 ODI World Cup will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
Walter was inevitably questioned about South Africa’s recurring exits in knockout matches of major global tournaments. He was reminded of the previous year when the Proteas lost the T20 World Cup final to India from a dominant position.
“I don’t think there was one specific reason for the loss, but rather a combination of factors. We could have bowled better in the last 10 overs. New Zealand managed to accelerate and gain momentum,” Walter explained.
“There was also a period in the middle overs when Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra increased their scoring rate, and we missed some opportunities to take wickets and slow them down,” he added.
Reflecting on their batting, Walter mentioned, “When we were batting, just as we were starting to build momentum, we lost a partnership which really slowed us down in the middle overs. Of course, we saw David Miller play incredibly well to score a century towards the end. It just shows that you are always just one good partnership away from achieving something special.”
When asked if South Africa ran out of ideas while trying to contain Williamson and Ravindra, Walter disagreed. “No, I don’t think that’s accurate. We definitely tried to vary our approach, we changed the pace of the bowling. I think the ball wasn’t gripping much at that stage, especially in the early overs, so the ball was just sliding on.”
“It was clearly a very good batting wicket. I don’t think you can score 360 if it’s not a good batting wicket. So, it wasn’t due to a lack of effort from our side,” he asserted.
Walter admitted to slight errors in executing their plans but emphasized that there was no lack of effort. “You can never question the effort of the players. We tried everything we could, but unfortunately, we couldn’t break that crucial partnership which allowed them to build momentum towards the end,” he added.
