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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUPFebruary 15, 2015AB de VilliersDavid MillerHAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND Q. AB, 46 hours ahead of the game, was that, are you satisfied with the performance? AB DE VILLIERS: I'm very happy with the performance. You've got to give credit to those guys. They played a really good game today. No doubt that their touch played a big part in them getting ahead early on. It was a really difficult wicket to battle on the first 20 overs. We had got it a little easier in our innings. David and JP made full use of that and played exceptionally well and a great partnership that won us the game today. But I'm very, very satisfied with our first win. These guys can play some cricket. Like I said before, they beat Australia not long ago, and I won be surprised if they upset a couple of teams in this World Cup. Q. It was a fantastic performance from the middle-order which has sometimes been an area of concern for South Africa. How good was it to see it was a record partnership, but also two 200s from two guys you're really going to need in this tournament? AB DE VILLIERS: Yeah, it was very pleasing to sit on the side and watch that. We were talking about 240 to 250 at one stage, and ended up getting that. I don't know how we did. But it was an incredible performance by the two of them. David got a sniff in the 40th over, and went to it from there. We've seen him demolish it before and what he's capable of. To see that at the highest level in the biggest tournament you can get is great. It shows you where this guy's going with his cricket career. To get JP also in good form, he's been a little bit out of touch with I see had injuries, to see him bat like that is very pleasing. And the two of them together running really well between the wickets. So the whole team is sitting on the side and really clapping them along which is great for the team spirits and got the boys across the line today. Wasn't always easy with the ball in hand. I thought they did exceptionally well. I thought they put an emphasis on that tonight. I think you'll see all teams batting first when they come into Hamilton. So for us to cross the line with the against us like that, and against such a wicket team like them is very pleasing. Q. Can you talk a little more about the first 21 overs or so when you were 4 wickets down? You only had 80 runs on the board; how worried were you and what was it about the wicket that was making it so difficult? AB DE VILLIERS: It was slow. It was slow and sticky, which suits the bowlers very well. It was a lot like the wicket we played on today. Those are the kind of wickets that we played on, really slow, difficult to get through the line. Things we enjoy as batters back home in South Africa, you can't do that here with this slow attack, and they take the pace off the ball. They're really good with what they do out there, and I'm pretty sure you'll see it again against other teams in this tournament. There will be a few upsets I believe, and that's what made it difficult. Just slowish stakes and difficulty through the land. Q. You obviously take the win. But what are the things you'd like to improve on? AB DE VILLIERS: Yeah, improve obviously a slow start today. Hopefully it's a little better in the first 10 to 15 overs. My wicket came at a bad time. I'm really happy looking back now because these two got to the wickets. But it was a crucial time there for me to just try to push on a little bit. But other than that, the top order scored the runs at the end of the day. Which is always pleasing. Started off a little slow with the ball, but like I said before, the wicket played really well. You don't often see guys sitting through the line like that. It means that the wicket is not playing -- that it didn't play badly. That is probably the main areas. Just to start a little bit better with the ball in hand and also with the bat. Q. And Imran's influence? AB DE VILLIERS: Imran and all the batters together bowled really well as a unit. I think that everyone had parts to play in crucial areas of the game, but definitely Imran was a stand-up batter and changed the pace of the game immediately when he came on. It made it really difficult to score against him. Q. Was there a genuine thought that you were in trouble and maybe Zimbabwe would pull off an upset, because you were pretty much ahead the whole time I suppose? AB DE VILLIERS: I spoke about it in the first weeks back. We were in the top gun. They had a lot on the target with the run (Indiscernible). We needed something to happen. The pace of the game to change a bit. And Abbot did that really well, and formed some partnerships with bowlers at another end. But yes, all throughout the game I felt pressure. In most games that I play in, you know you've got to get wickets to win the game, otherwise the batters are just going to get the runs. They don't go to bat for the fun of it. They go to score the total. So you know you have to get breakthroughs all the time, and that's pressure for captains and for bowlers to know it. Q. You said you think you're doing this one game at a time. This game is out of the way. Have you thought about the India game yet? AB DE VILLIERS: No, I'm thinking about the two days off. I'm going to spend a little time in Melbourne, have a little fun with the guys. My wife's coming over. All our families are coming over, which is great. We'll start focusing on it again come Wednesday when we get together for our first training session in Melbourne. But for now like I said before the game as well, just want to stay away from watching cricket games. I'm not tired. I love the game of cricket. I'm never tired, guys. I'm just going to stay away from watching other games and following commentary and news because that tires me out a little bit. For the next two days try to get away from the game and try to tackle India. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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