South Africa coach Rob Walter’s post-match press conference after the Netherlands defeat in Dharamsala.
[Reporter:]
Rob, I think those last 10 overs of the first innings, would you agree that that was a game changer and what do you think happened there? Did you think the guys looked a bit lacklustre maybe and also all the extras you guys conceded?
[Rob Walter:]
Yeah, you’re probably right on all counts except the lacklustre part. I think strategically we might have just got a few things wrong. Maybe I’ve got our ratios a little bit wrong in terms of the slow balls versus hard length and on-pace deliveries. It’s obviously a lot easier in hindsight to say that. From an extras point of view, there are definitely more extras than we would want to bowl. And at 140 for 7, you’re in control of the game really. So, to not be able to close it out at the death is disappointing, of course, and certainly, the momentum shifted in the game then. But at the end of the day, we back ourselves still to be able to chase 240 but then we probably you know got off to a very poor start and they put us on the back foot.
[Reporter:]
How does a team who played so well in their first two games you know play like this against a team they really should beat?
[Rob Walter:]
I love a good question. I guess that’s why we love sport. Four days ago, we played outstandingly well, and then today, not well. So yeah, you can pick apart results like that. 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 are 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. We learned that today.
[Reporter:]
Obviously, the bowling in the latter stages, perhaps put the guys under pressure and stuff. And I know this is probably not the right phrase, but given the batting as well that was put under pressure, is that sort of like, in hindsight perhaps, a good reality check, given the whole fanfare about the top six, and how potent it has been, it’s just sort of like a timely reminder, that not everything is going to be as simple as they made it seem previously.
[Rob Walter:]
Yeah, I mean, it takes everyone to win the game and to win a competition so you can’t rely on any one suite of your makeup. You’ve got to do it all and you’ve got to do it consistently well.
So, we were inconsistent from last game to this game and we got a couple of things wrong that we normally would get right. So, you’ve got to keep your consistency up. As I said, we can’t put our eggs in one basket. It takes batting, bowling, and fielding to win games, not just one pot.
[Reporter:]
Do you think bowling is becoming a cause of concern for you guys in this competition because you got hit for some runs against Sri Lanka as well? You posted 400 plus but you got away and got hit for some runs and now in the latter stage of this, the innings, you also got hit for some runs. Do you think the bowling is becoming a bit of a concern for you guys?
[Rob Walter:]
No, I mean, essentially, I think our bowling won us the game against Australia. The guys were excellent. So, I won’t look too deeply into it and start saying there’s any concern in one area. As I said, we got some things fundamentally wrong today.
[Reporter:]
Those four top-order wickets that fell for eight runs in 21 balls what do you put that down to? Was it a lapse of concentration or was it was it skill errors?
[Rob Walter:]
I mean getting out in batting comes down to either mental error, a technical error or the bowler’s skill. So, you’ll always be placing it in one of those. I don’t think that they’ll all sit in one category I think there was some, there’s some good bowling skill and then potentially some mental errors along the way and that’s batting you know ultimately if you’re not sharp in that moment of time you can get on the wrong side of it so yeah, the fact that they happened all together obviously put us on the back foot. That’s the most important thing
[Reporter:]
We’ve got some big games coming up now. What do you learn from this that maybe you need to change going into this big stage?
[Rob Walter:]
Look, I mean, obviously we’ll sit and do a proper dissection of the game, but for me, it’s really what you take from this game that makes you better next game. And that’s ultimately the question we ask ourselves after every game.
Win or lose, what are the lessons that we take and how do we use those to be better next time around?
To be honest, we could probably chat for quite long. In this instance, there’s a lot to learn, both good and bad. Our tail showed us some resilience with a bat, which is great, that we can lean on that at some point in time, hopefully if we need to again. 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.
