Restoring confidence crucial for Proteas before Champions Trophy opener

A six-match losing streak in ODIs is not a concern for Temba Bavuma and the rest of the Proteas squad before the ICC Champions Trophy that starts later this week.

The Proteas held a full training session in Karachi on Sunday, with the entire squad gathering for the first time after the arrival of seven players on Saturday. SA play their first match in the tournament on Friday against Afghanistan.

The Proteas last won an ODI in October, when a starting team containing six of the current Champions Trophy squad beat Ireland in Abu Dhabi. Since then they’ve lost four matches to Pakistan, one to Ireland and another to New Zealand.

“There has not been much discussion [about the losing run] among the players,” said the Proteas captain. “It’s not been our full-strength team [that has played].… you expect that the guys who come in can still maintain that standard.”

Apart from a few individuals, especially seam bowler Lungi Ngidi, Bavuma said the rest of the group was high on confidence heading into the tournament, with a particular emphasis being placed on rebuilding the bonds from the 2023 World Cup, in which they finished runners-up.

“It’s for us as a group to connect strongly again and to remind ourselves about how we want to play. That confidence and knowing comes from how we have performed as a group. These guys have all known each other for the past four or five years. There’s no baggage coming into this tournament, we are looking forward to playing our best cricket.”

Ngidi’s form before the tournament is particularly concerning. Since returning from a groin injury, he had very little playing time in the SA20, and his performances in the two matches he played in the triangular series last week were poor.

“He feeds off confidence from guys around him,” said Bavuma. “We’ve never felt it was a skill or talent issue, it’s merely a confidence thing. Unfortunately you get confidence on the field of play. He’ll take whatever confidence he can from the games he played in the Tri-Series.

“But there are also the lessons [to learn] and areas he will need to improve on. As captain it’s about supporting him and giving him the confidence he needs and ensuring he has clarity about his role. He’s also under no illusions as to what is expected of him,” Bavuma added.

SA will play a warm-up match against a local invitation team on Monday. “It’s good to be with the guys again. The energy was high at training [on Sunday]. There is a sense of excitement for what is to come.”

SA and Afghanistan are in Group B alongside England and Australia. Pakistan, who won the competition when it was last played in England in 2017, will face New Zealand in the opening match on Wednesday.