Duminy: Proteas are ‘quietly confident’
South Africa all-rounder JP Duminy says the key phrase going round the Proteas' camp is 'quietly confident' ahead of their World Twenty20 campaign, and the continuation of their quest to win an ICC world title.
The Proteas, despite always being one of the favourites ahead of World Cups, have yet to win one in either ODIs or T20s, and Duminy feels that they're getting there, and that the semi-final at the World Cup last year was a case of being outplayed, not 'choking'.
Duminy said: "We've taken massive strides in these events. In the past, we've buckled under the pressure. If we look back to the last T20 and 50-over World Cup where we reached the semi-finals, we were outplayed.
"It's when we haven't given our best that we've let ourselves down. Quietly confident is the phrase that's going around, especially in the shorter format. We are looking forward to this tournament."
As for his own form, Duminy conceded that his efforts with the bat in recent months have been below par, failing to reach fifty in 21 matches, but feels confident that he'll come good in India.
Duminy said after his 67 in the warm up game this week: "I will be lying if I say it hasn't been a really average season for me. But I enjoy these events and I feel very refreshed at a world event like this."
He explained that he, and the team, had been focusing on making sure the basics were done right, and that taking it one ball at a time tended to help take the pressure off slightly.
He said: "When you are under pressure and your heart rate is 180, it's hard to keep your thinking clear and that's why we've spoken about doing the basics well.
"If you focus on something that easy, it gives you a good chance of putting in a big performance in that situation."
The Proteas' first Super 10 group match is on Friday against England.
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