Sangakkara sends AB and the troops a ‘smiley face message’
WELLINGTON: The likely influential figure standing between the Proteas and a semifinal place at this World Cup has possibly given South Africa the greatest bit of advice yet. That is, of course, if they were listening to the great Kumar Sangakkara yesterday after the Sri Lankan maestro became the first batsman to score four consecutive ODI centuries.
All things being equal, South Africa should have a date with the red-hot Sangakkara and the rest of his Sri Lankan teammates next Wednesday in Sydney in the first quarterfinal.
On the basis of pure talent the Proteas are equal, if not superior, to the 1996 champions with captain AB de Villiers able to match Sangakkara stroke for stroke. However, Sri Lanka’s ability to execute under the intense pressure evident at all major ICC tournaments is what sets them apart and should in fact afford them the status of “favourites” for the moment of truth at the SCG.
Unlike South Africa, who have never won a knockout game at a World Cup, and have routinely struggled at major ICC tournaments, the islanders have been World Cup finalists for the past two tournaments and are also the current holders of the World T20 title.
Dossiers have been compiled previously and all sorts of consultants have been called in at various times to identify the reasons for South Africa’s blowouts in crunch matches, but Sangakkara offered the most simplistic rationale for his team’s successes.
“The key for us is the way we enjoy our cricket. As long as there is a smile on our face, then that is what matters most. Would love to see myself, and all of us, on the winning podium, but you can’t want it too much. Just need to keep focused on the present and work hard each day,” said Sangakkara, who had much to smile about after overtaking Adam Gilchrist as the most successful World Cup wicketkeeper with 54 dismissals too yesterday.
It is not the first time at this World Cup that a prominent cricket character has spoken about the importance of enjoying the task at hand, instead of becoming absorbed by the outcome. Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe actually singled out AB de Villiers in an open letter on Cricinfo, telling the Proteas captain to “chill mate”.
De Villiers took much of what Crowe said on board, even having a shave like the ICC Hall of Fame inductee suggested he do, but after the Pakistan defeat at Eden Park he was back to his grumpiness, with comments like “perhaps we not be as good as we think we are” and “not prepared to fight it out”. He went further with another classic: “I’ve got nothing good to say about the team at the moment.”
Such public criticism from a captain generally doesn’t inspire the troops, although De Villiers might have been attempting some sort of reverse psychology to get his team fired up ahead of this crucial juncture of the tournament.
Personally, the skipper seemed to have recovered yesterday from the red mist that had come over him in Auckland, and was back to his bubbling best, even joking that “I am actually a lot more honest when I speak Afrikaans.”
De Villiers, famous for that “we are better than Australia” quote after losing the Australian series 4-1 in these parts last year, went one better yesterday with “I 100% believe we are the best team in the tournament here,” he said.
“Those two losses in the group stage did hurt us a bit but we are past that now. We know where we could have won those games and we weren’t that far off.
“We know we are very close ... three games away from taking that World Cup home.”
South Africa desperately need their captain to remain calm and take an opportunity to savour the occasion.
“As a captain you sometimes get a feel going into a game in the warm-up. Sometimes, guys are over-intense, or guys need space or guys are too relaxed,” he said. But the flip side of that is that the players also feel their skipper’s vulnerabilities or positive energy and will follow his lead.