Proteas coach Rob Walter wants his bowlers to find a killer instinct at the Cricket World Cup in India.
Stunned by 38 runs by Netherlands on Tuesday night, South Africa only have themselves to blame for their failure.
Having the ‘minnows’ deep in trouble at 82/5, their bowlers should have wiped out the tail and should have delivered the death blow.
🏏 NETHERLANDS DEFEAT THE PROTEAS
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 17, 2023
🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦 David Miller (43) fought hard but it was not to be as the Netherlands earned a victory over the Proteas 🏏
Not the result we had hoped for but we will comeback stronger on Saturday 💪 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦#CWC23 #SAvNED #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/iJijVaeRvr
Instead, the Dutch tail wagged as they klapped 245/8, before showing the Proteas how to finish off a team by bowling them out for 207 runs.
As they gear up to face England in their fourth match on Saturday, having beaten Sri Lanka and Australia in their first two outings, Walter says: “We obviously need to brush up on our death [bowling]. I don’t need to point out the obvious, the numbers tell us that.
“So, the learnings are there and it’s just about us being open enough to be able to take them on board and move forward with it.”
Asked how it’s possible that they played so well in the first two games and then imploded in the third, Walter says: “I love a good question. I guess that’s why we love sport. Four days ago, we played outstandingly well, and then [against Netherlands], not well.
“So yeah, you can pick apart results like that. Just ultimately, we weren’t good enough, specifically at the back-end of the innings.
“And then at the start with the bat, and we put us on the back foot. As I said before the World Cup started, I don’t think there’s any weak teams in this tournament. And if you’re not switched on and you don’t win the key moments in the game, you find yourself on the wrong side of the result.”