Proteas will handle the pressure – Peterson

THE pressures of professional cricket in this day and age are unimaginable. The best tournaments in the world reach hundreds of millions of viewers and social media has taken things up a notch.

The ongoing IPL is an excellent example of how fans around the world have got involved in the game by taking to social media to share their views and reactions.

“During the 2011 World Cup, social media was at its infancy stage. I think now everything will be even more exaggerated,” Robin Peterson said.

“There’ll be more media and broadcast attention around the tournament. Back then, it felt like it (high pressure), now it will feel like that even more.”

Franchise cricket has made all this pressure and intensity in games of cricket almost the norm. In the IPL, passionate fans fill the stadiums for almost every match, creating high pressure for players.

With all this in mind, Peterson expects key Proteas players to be well-prepared for all the pressure and expectation that will come at the World Cup in India in October.

“India is at the pinnacle of cricket at the moment,” he said.

“You could probably say they are the home of cricket now.

You’re always in the public eye and everything you do is news.

“The players are used to all the pressure because a lot of our key players play in the IPL. They are used to that scrutiny, that type of intensity in which the fans react to games, and the intensity of the cricket itself.”

South Africa’s 2011 World Cup squad had all they needed to go all the way in that tournament.

Peterson highlighted captain Graeme Smith’s tactical creativity and the fact that every squad member brought good form into that tournament as the strength of that team.

He also mentioned how competition within the squad played a key role. Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who was right up there in terms of rankings in one-day internationals at the time, could not crack the playing XI, which had the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.

“As much as it’s important to back players,” said Peterson, “there has to be an element of competition for spots within the squad.

“That’s what keeps everyone sharp and on their toes, working hard. Everyone was in form in the bowling attack, more importantly.

“Everyone was bowling well and we had bowling options right through. The captain could throw the ball to anyone and be a threat.

“I think that was the strength of that team. We also batted deep, we had two spinning all-rounders in Johan Botha and myself, and that really lengthened our batting.

“We got creative. We had spinners opening the bowling and we were bowling spin at different points of the game where we wouldn’t in the past. I think it is the one World Cup where we got creative and we kept the opposition guessing.”

The coaching staff of the Proteas white-ball team has also had a taste of World Cup cricket. Batting coach JP Duminy has been to three World Cups (2011, 2015 and 2019), while head coach Rob Walter was involved in the 2011 World Cup as a fitness trainer.

Current Proteas players will lean on all that experience, too.