Markram trusts in Proteas’ ability to remain calm under semifinal pressure

Of course there’ll be nerves, tension and anxiety, but Aiden Markram believes his players will be able to harness the feelings rather than be suppressed by them when they take on Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup semifinal in Trinidad on Thursday (2.30am SA time).

South Africa have been here before — seven months ago — when Australia produced a thunderous opening hour in the ODI World Cup semi that all but flattened the Proteas in Kolkata. There was a gutsy fightback with both bat and ball, but ultimately SA came up short. 

Markram said on Tuesday lessons had been heeded from the experience, and the disappointment also had a galvanising effect for the players. 

“We have been tracking pretty well as a white-ball team over the past two years,” said the Proteas captain.

“The environment you are able to create in the changeroom, along with experience, plays a big role in how things look on the field. Guys have a lot of trust in each other and are willing to put everything on the line for each other. What you see from an actions perspective on the field, along with the effort, has helped to put us in a really nice position.”

South Africa’s journey through the tournament has been unique, and not only because they played in New York. They have won all their matches, but unlike India, who have also done that in the competition, none of SA’s seven wins have been dominant. 

Three of them, including Monday’s heart-stopper against the West Indies, could — possibly should — have gone the other way. But through luck, skill and desire they have made it to the final four, and therefore dealing with the pressure of a semifinal, which many SA teams have struggled with in the past, does not bother Markram.

“We’ve been involved in quite a few close games in this competition, so it won't feel like anything new to us. We also take a lot of belief into it, knowing we might not be in ideal positions but we have been able to get the job done and that offers a lot of calmness as a team,” he said.   

“You look at the way you want to play and if you’re operating in that space, you take calmness and confidence in your decision making and hopefully those things help us. We have a lot of trust in each other and our decision making. Whether it is the right one or the wrong one, we are committed to it.”

As has been the case through the tournament, Markram didn’t shy away from mentioning how the bowlers had largely carried the team.

“From a batting point of view, we’ve shown good signs but not been at our best, sometimes due to conditions being quite tough and other times just giving it away. The opportunity lies in the fact that we haven’t put a complete game of cricket together yet and we have trust in the fact that if we are able to do so it puts us in a really good position.” 

Afghanistan will bring a variety of attacking options to the game, particularly with the ball. Fazalhaq Farooqi is the tournament’s top wicket taker with 16, while Rashid Khan is third highest with 14. Their opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz is the competition’s top run-scorer, so any thoughts of complacency among the SA players can be dispelled.

Not that they should feel that way given the way the tournament has unfolded.

“We are happy to acknowledge there are more nerves and more anxiety, but those are normal emotions you feel as a human,” said Markram.

“The one promise we make to each other is to bring some really good energy and excitement about the game. This is an opportunity to do something special.”