“We definitely have the make up to go all the way”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
South Africa all-rounder Jean Paul (JP) Duminy believes there is no reason why the Proteas cannot win the World Cup.
After South Africa ODI captain AB de Villiers called his side “the team to beat” during the World Cup, Duminy noted that the Proteas are “quietly confident of what we can do”.
“We definitely have the make up to go all the way. We understand it’s up to us to make that happen,” Duminy said. “We are not a blasé team that’s going to say a lot of things before going into a big tournament like that but we are quietly confident of what we can do and the capability of what we hold as a squad. I am almost at that stage where I can’t wait to get there.”
However, even though South Africa hold an unassailable 3-0 lead in the ongoing ODI series against the West Indies, Duminy stated that the national team cannot let their guard down.
“We want to get the ball rolling but we also understand that preparation is key,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we do not take our foot off the pedal in our last two games here.
“To be successful at the World Cup, you are probably going to have to win back-to-back games. We’ve won three in a row but the challenge for us is to go four-nil up; to go five-nil up and put ourselves under that sort of pressure. If we can do that convincingly in this series, we’ll take a lot of confidence out of that.”
Duminy also admitted that it felt incredible to hit his first ball for six after spending two months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
“It was the ideal way to make a comeback – first ball back, hitting it over – it was almost like a signature shot,” he said. “I also know it’s very much a false sense of security and I don’t want to read too much into it. The opportunities that I get before the World Cup are important and I need to make the most of them.”
Duminy also revealed that he has been working on his off-spin since he is expecting to bowl quite often during the World Cup.
“We only have three seamers with Farhaan Behardien the fourth seaming option so I am probably going to have to get the ball pretty early in terms of the make up of our bowling unit,” he said. “It’s a good challenge for me to get into the game early and try to make some inroads.
“You are never going to have the perfect preparation. You must just manage it pretty well in terms of what you do and what you take out of what actually happens. Everybody wants a perfect scenario but you have to control what you do throughout the chaos you are surrounded by in the preparation for the World Cup.”
Speaking about the West Indies, Duminy pointed out that they have the ability to regroup and become a major contender for the World Cup since they have a squad filled with big-hitters.
“We are going to play against West Indies in the third game of the World Cup and I can guarantee you they are not going to put in a performance like they have over the last three games. They are going to come out fighting,” he said. “We don’t want to be too blasé about the performances they’ve had. When you are going to a big tournament as much as you want to take confidence out of previous series, it actually means nothing because it’s about how you perform on the day.”