Quinton de Kock says South Africa have put a slump in confidence behind them as they prepare to embark on a run of high-stakes World Cup games they hope will salvage their campaign.
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De Kock is billing Wednesday’s Edgbaston meeting with New Zealand as “a quarter-final” for the South Africans, who finally got off the mark for the tournament at the fifth time of asking with a nine-wicket defeat of Afghanistan.
That left them with a record of one win, three defeats and one no result – umpromising, but not without precedent among eventual champions given Pakistan’s identical five-match return in 1992.
De Kock recaptured a semblance of his own fine pre-tournament form in Cardiff, hitting a first-half-century since the opener against England, and ahead of the New Zealand game he said, “We are pretty confident at the moment. It’s just about taking it out there and giving a good show.
On the prospet of inflicting a potentially tournament-ending defeat on South Africa, Boult said, “It’s not driving us in any respect.
“It’s a chance for us to go out there and perform and show we can bring the game and style that we play back home in New Zealand very well, to test it against quality players in foreign conditions on a big stage.”
