2015 Cricket World Cup: Donald - We will always be 'chokers' until we win a title
The Proteas are again among the favourites to win the World Cup
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Bowling coach Allan Donald has admitted South Africa will not lose their “chokers” tag until they win a major tournament.
The Proteas are again among the favourites to win the World Cup, but again any discussion about their prospects inevitably returns to their inability to win in the latter stages. They have never reached a World Cup final and have won just one match in the knockout stages since their famous exit to Australia in 1999.
“That tag will never go away,” said Donald, who was the man run out when the Proteas tied that Edgbaston semi-final to exit the tournament. “That will never go away until we win an ICC event. We’ve got to come out and prove it.”
South Africa open their campaign against Zimbabwe at Seddon Park in Hamilton tomorrow. The focus of attention leading up to the game has centred on the fitness of spearhead Dale Steyn after he was rested for South Africa’s final warm-up match against New Zealand. Steyn joined a four-hour training session yesterday and Donald confirmed he would be fit to play.
“Everyone is fine,” he said. “We rested Dale in the previous match to make sure he is 110 per cent but everyone is fine.”
With a fully fit squad, the Proteas have set about knuckling down in training after they were soundly beaten by the Kiwis in Christchurch to round out their preparations. “We got on the bus in Christchurch after the New Zealand game, and A B [de Villiers] just said: ‘It’s time to lock in’,” Donald added. “Everyone’s excited. Even arriving here for this training session, we know it’s right on the doorstep. We’re very eager to get on with it.”
South Africa have lost to Zimbabwe just twice in 37 one-day internationals, but their cross-border rivals proved they can upset the best when they defeated Australia for the first time in 31 years last August. South Africa saw the shock result first-hand – they were the third team in the Harare Tri-series.
Zimbabwe completed their World Cup preparations with a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
Tomorrow at the World Cup
South Africa v Zimbabwe
Tomorrow, 1am GMT.
Pool B, Hamilton; Sky Sports 2
Weather Warm and sunny with patchy cloud. Max temp: 26C
South Africa (probable) AB de Villiers (capt), HM Amla, KJ Abbott, Q de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, F du Plessis, Imran Tahir, M Morkel, WD Parnell, VD Philander, DW Steyn
Zimbabwe (probable) E Chigumbura (capt), RW Chakabva (wk), CJ Chibhabha, CR Ervine, T Kamungozi, H Masakadza, SF Mire, T Mupariwa, Sikandar Raza, BRM Taylor, SC Williams
Umpires R Tucker (Aus) & R Martinesz (SL)
India v Pakistan
Tomorrow, 3.30am GMT
Pool B, Adelaide; Sky Sports 2
Weather Warm and overcast. Max temp: 35C
India (probable) MS Dhoni (capt/wk), R Ashwin, S Dhawan, RA Jadeja, V Kohli, AR Patel, AM Rahane, SK Raina, AT Rayudu, MM Sharma, RG Sharma
Pakistan (probable) Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail, Nasir Jamshed, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Khan, Umar Akmal (wk), Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Younis Khan
Umpires R Kettleborough (Eng) & I Gould (Eng)
Ireland v West Indies
Tomorrow, 10pm GMT
Pool B, Nelson; Sky Sports 2
Weather Warm and sunny with patchy cloud. Max temp: 24C
Ireland (probable) WTS Porterfield (capt), A Balbirnie, AR Cusack, EC Joyce, AR McBrine, JF Mooney, KJ O’Brien, NJ O’Brien (wk), MC Sorensen, PR Stirling, GC Wilson
West Indies (probable) JO Holder (capt), CH Gayle, MN Samuels, DM Bravo, JL Carter, D Ramdin (wk), KAJ Roach, AD Russell, DJG Sammy, LMP Simmons, DR Smith
Umpires R Illingworth (Eng) & B Oxenford (Aus)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments