|| Desk Report ||

South Africa are famous for chocking at the big stages. Getting out at the knockout stage after playing so well in the group stages has become their destiny. Their captain Faf du Plessis thinks that South Africa haven't played their best cricket in previous editions of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup because they put themselves under unnecessary pressure.   

"In previous World Cups, we wanted to do Superman things. We thought we had to be more special, we had to do something more than we usually do, and we did not do what was good enough before," he told reporters on the eve of the team's departure for England. "We haven’t always got that right in the past, to play our best cricket at the World Cup, because we put so much pressure on ourselves. We want to just focus on enjoying our cricket." He said.

Overcoming the fear of failure would be the key for the players, du Plessis believes. He also hopes to help them cope with the pressure with his own experience.

"We started a year or two ago with a real focus on mental preparation and, as a captain, I probably speak more about that than previous captains," he stated. "But I really believe it’s an area we can get better in. I’ve been there and I know the pressures, I understand how to deal with them.”

"There’s a reason why we want the guys to play freely – because we don’t want them to have a fear of failure, which is what the World Cup is for some of them. Our success in England over the next couple of months depends on how well we release that aspect of our play – we need that for the team to be at our best. Each player needs to find out his own strengths." He added.