South Africa are prepared for any opposition: Kyle Abbott
South Africa held their training session in Auckland on Saturday morning as they prepare for their ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on Tuesday. Following their euphoric win against Sri Lanka, the Proteas have hit the reset button and begun from scratch in order to appear in their first ever World Cup final. Proteas pacer Kyle Abbott has said that they already tasted success against New Zealand in the past and would like to win the semi-final.
“To be honest I don’t think it matters,” Kyle Abbott said of their semifinal opposition on Saturday.
“We have had success against both teams in the past. We beat New Zealand last year in an away series, came off 4-1 to the West Indies at home so I don’t really think it will make a difference for us.” he added.
“The key thing for us is to reset from Wednesday night and to focus on how we prepare for the game and to take on any opposition who we will face on Tuesday,” Abbott said.
I make sure that I’m prepared for every game: Abbott
The major factor of Proteas win against Sri Lanka was their new ball bowling from Abbott, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. The three pacemen throttled the Sri Lankan batsmen and gave little room for run-scoring. Abbott mentions that he has learnt a lot from the likes of Steyn and Morkel in the way they prepare and how they handle the big pressure situations.
“I have been fortunate enough that I have taken the new-ball my whole life, even at the domestic level,” he said.
“Even though we are at the international level and at a World Cup it’s not a new thing for me. It’s been more a case of keeping my emotions in check. It’s been an emotional couple of weeks, it’s a huge honour and a privilege playing here, it’s something I have aspired towards for ages. The challenge for me is trying not to get too excited for a game.” he said.
“It’s quite a hard space to be in,” he admitted when asked how he felt at the back of the pecking order behind Vernon Philander.
“Especially if the team is on a roll and there aren’t many changes and you are just sort of waiting. That’s the hard thing about it, but it’s also quite exciting. You can get a gap and you look like a hero, so yes it can be difficult.” he added.
"I’ve gotten away around it, I make sure that I’m prepared for every game as if I’m going to play so it’s just a case of mentally switching on and going through your processes. You just have to wing it and go with it.” he concluded.