“Obviously we have the game against the Netherlands on Sunday and hopefully David can be fit and ready for that game. As far as I know, he wasn’t physically fit for this game against Pakistan and it was a precautionary measure not to field him.”
Asked about the defeat, Bavuma said it was a wake-up call and they will now have to win all their matches at the tournament to win the World Cup.
“As a team if we were going to lose, it is probably now. Looking at our next game, that is a must-win for us because of where we stand on the table after four matches in the tournament.
“Play-offs also are must-win games, I guess we had a bit of a lifeline because of the way we played until this point. From now on it is about us playing our best cricket — and today we didn’t play our best cricket.”
Miller expected to be fit for must-win World Cup clash against the Netherlands
Image: Matt King-ICC/ICC via Getty Images
Key middle-order batter David Miller is expected to take his place in the Proteas squad for their must-win ICC Men's T20 World Cup group 2 clash at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
Miller, who has been one of the standout performers for the Proteas at the tournament, missed the 33-run DLS-method loss to Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday as an injury precaution.
Miller, who is recovering from back spasms, was replaced by Heinrich Klaasen and captain Temba Bavuma is keeping fingers crossed that he will respond well to treatment and be declared fit by the medical team to boost the batting line-up.
“I am not the representative of the medical team but I do believe it was a precautionary measure,” said Bavuma.
“Obviously we have the game against the Netherlands on Sunday and hopefully David can be fit and ready for that game. As far as I know, he wasn’t physically fit for this game against Pakistan and it was a precautionary measure not to field him.”
Asked about the defeat, Bavuma said it was a wake-up call and they will now have to win all their matches at the tournament to win the World Cup.
“As a team if we were going to lose, it is probably now. Looking at our next game, that is a must-win for us because of where we stand on the table after four matches in the tournament.
“Play-offs also are must-win games, I guess we had a bit of a lifeline because of the way we played until this point. From now on it is about us playing our best cricket — and today we didn’t play our best cricket.”
Bavuma added that one of the reasons for the loss was that they didn’t adapt to the changing conditions because of rain.
“Conditions changed a little bit with the ball starting to skid on. I think in terms of awareness and adapting to that we were very slow. We allowed them to get momentum into their innings and they were able to get a formidable score on the board.
“With them coming on the field with the ball, they had momentum. They had the advantage on their side and they ran with that. A team like Pakistan is very dangerous when you give them a sniff or any type of momentum.”
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