South Africa's Temba Bavuma previews their must-win ICC Cricket World Cup clash with England
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00:00 You said after the Netherlands game that you needed to allow the hurt to seep in.
00:11 How has the seepage process progressed in the last few days?
00:16 I do think it's progressed.
00:21 We've had hard conversations as a team, obviously looking at our performances and where things
00:27 went bad for us, from a batting, bowling, even from a fielding point of view.
00:33 We've put that behind us.
00:35 We obviously got the challenge of England starting.
00:39 And we are, I guess, in preparation of getting ourselves in the right mental state, physically
00:44 as well, to play our best cricket there.
00:48 Temba, just to follow on from that, what did you guys do in the days, I mean it hasn't
00:54 been many days, but in the time that you've had since the Dutch game?
00:59 What did we do?
01:00 Well, we got to Mumbai, explored a little bit of Mumbai.
01:04 Obviously spoken about the game, from a, like I said, from a skills department point of
01:08 view, what exactly that we need to get better.
01:12 I think we also acknowledged the fact that in the last couple of months we've played
01:16 a lot of good cricket, so I think it's not to overlook that and allow one blip, I would
01:22 say, in our game to override everything that we've done and still keep the confidence in
01:31 everything that we are doing.
01:32 I think it's easy to second-guess yourselves, second-guess your processes and your game,
01:43 so it's not to forget all the good work that we've done.
01:49 Does the fact that England are coming into this game on the back of a surprise loss as
01:54 well, do you feel that you're sort of starting level, you know, that neither side's got that
01:58 much of an advantage in that sense?
02:01 You could probably say so.
02:03 I think both teams will obviously be looking to eradicate that, to deal with whatever issues
02:10 that they had.
02:11 I think both teams will be looking to play their best cricket and I think it could be
02:15 a one-all of the game if you've got two teams of this calibre who play close to their best.
02:22 Obviously our aim is to stop England from playing close to their best and hopefully
02:28 the result is within our favour this game.
02:41 I think it's acknowledged that South Africa have one of the better batting line-ups at
02:44 this tournament, but we saw what happened against the Dutch, the Seamers came unstuck
02:49 in the last part of the innings.
02:51 How do you come back from that?
02:53 What did the Seamers do to not have that happen again?
02:56 Yeah, I think, like you say, I think the first 30 overs, 35 overs, we were very good as a
03:03 team.
03:04 We got them to 140 for 7 if I'm not mistaken and then that's where things kind of, I guess
03:09 the wheels fell off.
03:10 I think we were put under pressure in the death period and I think probably our death,
03:16 how we bowled within the death hasn't been at our best and I guess that's kind of been
03:21 masked by how well we've bowled in the power play as well as the middle overs.
03:25 So I think just more, I guess it's just more the mental side of it in those periods, how
03:30 we're able to still keep that clarity and calmness in what we're doing in those periods.
03:38 Also to understand that we're going to get put under pressure in the death again.
03:41 It's not going to be maybe Netherlands in the playoff games if we get there, but there
03:46 will be a team that will put us under pressure.
03:48 So how do we react differently within that period?
03:52 And then I think from the batting point of view, I think probably our biggest misdemeanor
03:58 as the batters is that we took that negative energy from the field, that momentum that
04:02 the Netherlands guys had achieved at the end of the innings.
04:07 We took that into their batting and like I said, there were no partnerships that we were
04:11 able to put together and that's been a strength of ours as a team.
04:15 We don't boast the longest batting lineup, so you guys who are at the top, it's important
04:20 that we set that foundation.
04:23 That foundation wasn't there and it became even more of a bigger task for our middle
04:27 order batters.
04:28 So I think there's specific areas that we've identified that we want to be better at and
04:35 that's what we'll be focusing on coming into this next game.
04:43 What do you know about this ground and how do you expect it to play and how do you guys
04:47 adjust to what you expect?
04:50 Happy birthday first of all, Dennis.
04:53 I think for me, growing up, idolising a guy like Sachin Tendulkar when I was a kid was
05:01 a stadium you always heard about.
05:03 So to have that opportunity to be playing, that's another tick of my list as a cricketer.
05:11 The guys that have played here, JP Dumini, Quinton, they've spoken about how it can be
05:16 a batter's paradise, you get value for your shots, ball seems to travel further.
05:21 So I think as batters there can be a lot of confidence in that if it is your day, you
05:26 can fill your boots.
05:29 And I guess just the atmosphere of it all, it being a full ground, it can really be something
05:34 to enjoy.
05:35 But I think our real assessment will happen on the day, we'll see what's happening there
05:39 and then try to put our best foot forward.
05:43 Both you and England are coming off defeats against Minos, if I may call, you permit me
05:53 to say so.
05:54 Do you think the non-India matches turnout has been very low?
05:59 You think you guys can excite the crowds of Mumbai which are actually cricket fans?
06:05 I'd love to think so.
06:07 I think if I was a cricket fan I'd want to be watching South Africa versus England.
06:13 I think it'll be, like I said, a tightly contested game, it'll be an exciting game.
06:17 Both teams I guess will be looking to prove themselves if I could say.
06:22 There'll be individuals in both camps who are wanting to put their hand up for the team.
06:26 So if I was a fan, I'd definitely want to come and watch.
06:30 Hi Timber.
06:32 Netherlands adopted a very specific plan of spin against the top order in their last game
06:45 and they succeeded as well.
06:46 So do you think that's an area of concern and are you giving any special attention to
06:51 it or do you think it's not something to worry about?
06:55 Yeah, look, it definitely surprised some of us, the tactic of theirs with the spin.
07:03 Understanding that the wicket supposedly wasn't favourable towards spin, with that being said,
07:08 you know, we had to adapt.
07:09 Some of us were able to, some of us weren't able to adapt.
07:13 We know England have also employed that, sometimes bowling more in early, the off-spinner at
07:19 the top.
07:20 So that's something that we're expecting, whether they go that route.
07:23 But yeah, it did take some of us by surprise in terms of Netherlands' tactic to keep going
07:31 longer with the spin and the power play.
07:41 Timber with Ben Stokes likely to play tomorrow, does that make your task of winning the match
07:46 tomorrow slightly more difficult?
07:48 Yeah, I think a fully fit Ben Stokes obviously does strengthen the England team.
07:55 You know, he is an X-Factor player.
07:57 He is the guy that can change the course of the game.
08:01 So you know, he's someone that we've covered in our preparation and we know we're going
08:09 to have to be at the top of our game to get him unstuck.
08:13 So a lot of respect for him, Ben Stokes.
08:15 We know what he can do, but we'll prepare against him as well as we can.
08:31 It doesn't happen often, you know, that two sports sort of like converge into like a global
08:37 product this weekend.
08:39 But there's a lot of excitement about Super Saturday in South Africa and probably in England
08:43 a bit.
08:45 Is that a sort of like a nice extra context to have to what is going to be a crucial battle
08:50 as well for you guys?
08:52 You could probably say so.
08:56 A lot of us love our rugby, so we'll definitely be supporting the Spin Box.
08:59 I'm sure they'll be supporting us as well.
09:03 I think we play first or do they play first?
09:07 We play first.
09:08 So I guess responsibilities on us to get things going the right way.
09:13 And then obviously we'll be supporting the guys after the game.
09:18 They sent us a message today in our meeting, I guess, you know, trying to encourage us
09:24 with our game.
09:25 So yeah, I think as a fan for South Africa, even for England, you know, you obviously
09:31 will be glued on your screens.
09:34 And I guess again, for us as players, we have that responsibility to put faces on our countrymen's
09:41 faces, to put smiles on our countrymen's faces and make sure we go out and entertain and
09:49 bring back the win.
09:52 Quinton Decock has had a fantastic start to the World Cup and given that he has also played
10:01 at this ground for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, how much hinges on his experience of the venue
10:06 given that some of the members in the squad might not be having the knowledge of conditions
10:10 and the wicket, how it behaves?
10:11 Yeah, his experience is immense.
10:13 I'm in our betting chat today.
10:15 We're basically listening to him.
10:16 He gave the betting chat as to what the conditions are like, what to expect.
10:21 I mean, for at least a player like myself, who's never played here, you know, you feed
10:25 off that type of information, that type of intel.
10:32 I think obviously with him having the good start, like you said, he'll be looking to
10:36 bold on that and I'm sure if it's his day, if the conditions allow, I'm sure he'll take
10:41 it with both hands.