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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUPMarch 11, 2015AB de VilliersWELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND Q. Is there anything that you can actually gain from tomorrow's game besides obviously winning it? AB de VILLIERS: Yeah, look, it's a very important game. We have to win it. It's not a maybe we'll win it kind of game. It's a must-win for us, very important. We'd really like to get to eight points and make sure we finish second in the group. That's the plan for now. I wouldn't like to get too technical about it. There are a few guys that I'd like to get into form, as well, tomorrow. Very good exercise once again for our bowlers to make sure they hit the hard lengths and do the basics really well. But all around I'd just like to show a good performance today. Q. Can I ask you for more detail as to the ticks that you'd like to have ticked off in that box before you get to the knockout stage? What would you like to have ticked off? AB de VILLIERS: Yes, a couple of guys need to get into form. I'd like to see a few players score some runs tomorrow hopefully. Bowling all around, it's just good exercise for everyone to go out there, to have a nice bowl, maybe for one or two of the part-timers to get an extra bowl, as well. We might need it in the knockout stages, and just an all-around good fielding performance tomorrow. That's as detailed as I can get. Just a good basic game of cricket, nice as tight. That's all I'm looking for. Q. AB, an injury update, is everyone all right? If one or two players have niggles would you rather rest them and get them ready for the quarterfinals? AB de VILLIERS: Yeah, if the guys are ready I'd like to play a good strong team tomorrow. Vernon we know is very close to 100 percent, if not 100 percent. We'll just have a final look tomorrow morning, and then it would be nice to give him a go if he is ready. Faf is struggling with a little bit of a lower back injury that he's been looking after for a few months now. We're not 100 percent sure about him and his fitness for tomorrow. But once again, those are the two guys we'll assess tomorrow morning and make the final decision. Q. Was there a temptation at any point, I guess, after the Pakistan game to give kind of extended squad members a go here at all, I'm thinking Wayne Parnell, Aaron? AB de VILLIERS: It's a difficult one that you don't want to mess around too much with your best possible 11, keeping in mind that all 15, yeah, need to play somewhere along the line in the World Cup. We'd like to get everyone and have everyone in decent form. I think that's more the responsibility of the coach and captain to make sure that around net sessions, around games, that the guys are all in a good space, especially those that are not playing. It is tempting to give everyone a go, but there are not a lot of games in the World Cup. The total is nine games if you go all the way, and it's a difficult decision. But there are a few players that we'd like to see run out there tomorrow that might not have played in the last game. We'll see how we go. Q. One of the things you spoke about after Pakistan, as well, was the confidence of the team. You stressed about they could make more out of that defeat if they wanted to do so. Where is the confidence of the team at this point, and what were the sort of conversations you were having, the senior group was having, about the confidence, heading into this tournament? AB de VILLIERS: We've moved on from the last game. It's past tense now. We've taken our learning from it, and it's all positive from here on in. I still feel very confident. I 100 percent believe we're the best team in the tournament here. Those two losses in the group stages did hurt us a bit and did hurt me a bit, but we're past that now. We've taken our learning and we know we could have won that games. We weren't that far off. I'm all about confidence going into this tournament, all positive chat from now on in. We know we're very close to -- well, a few games away from taking that World Cup home. For now the most important game is tomorrow, but we know we're not far off, so it's important to be positive and still believe that we're the best. Q. About the structure of your side, obviously the four frontline bowlers that you've been using have performed very, very well. That fifth bowler has been a little bit questionable by yourself, of course. When Vernon is fit, is there a theory that you could actually add him to your bowling unit, maybe drop a batsman, go with five out-and-out bowlers? AB de VILLIERS: Yeah, I think that's the difficult decision that most teams in this World Cup has got to make. You play either the extra batter or the extra bowler. We look at what kind of team we're playing against, what field we are playing on, what kind of situation and conditions we're expecting, and then we make that call. The last few games we've gone for the extra batter. Against India we went for the extra bowler. Both times we lost, so it's a difficult one. Q. It's very difficult, as well, not to cast your mind forward to what is to come in the quarterfinals. You pretty much, it's likely if things go to form, will be playing Sri Lanka. Is there any idea from you that it could be Bangladesh if they spring a surprise on New Zealand? Will you have to think about preparing for either? AB de VILLIERS: Yeah, we've got to win our game first, otherwise we might actually play Australia in Adelaide. There are quite a few options, and we'd just like to focus on tomorrow and make sure we have a good win. From there on we'll see where we go in the quarters and start planning accordingly. Whoever we play, I believe we've got the right squad here to come out on top. Q. AB, you talked about the preparation ahead of the Auckland game in terms of you could have possibly faced more new balls in the nets because of the surface, and you went on about preparation and planning and those type of things. There are a lot of uncontrollables in cricket, but that's a controllable. Is that something that needs regular focus? AB de VILLIERS: It's an individual thing that I can't tell certain senior players what to do and what not to do in their preparation. We're each very particular in what we do and how we prepare. I've got a certain way. I don't face a lot of new balls, but I still believe in my skill to adapt on the day. So I don't particularly go into net sessions and just face new balls all the time. I also don't go and say that I face old balls. Whatever the case may be, I focus on what I believe will get me into the best kind of form going into the game. Sometimes it's just facing 10 balls with a thrower on the other side. Whatever gets me into a good space. Each guy is different. Morne does his thing before going into a game, and as long as each guy feels prepared, which I 100 percent believe that we do going into games, then I'm very happy as the captain. Q. Obviously chasing is a bit of an issue for you guys. What is the special strategy if you have to in the next two matches? AB de VILLIERS: It's not an issue to be honest with you. I believe we can chase down any total. There's no special strategy, no. We've got to do the basics well. We've got good key points and plays that we want to follow throughout the World Cup. We didn't get it right in the chases that we didn't play well in, and as long as we get those right, then I truly believe we can chase down anything. It's not a problem. We've done it in the last year a few times under pressure. We didn't get it right in the last couple of chases, and that's all right. Still confident in the batting unit. I'm still -- I believe there are a few guys due for big runs, and it's going to happen soon, at the right time. Q. It's not quite over yet, but can you give us your assessment of how you've played in the pool games so far? I presume you assumed you'd be five from five at this point? AB de VILLIERS: No, we didn't expect to be five from five. World Cup is a funny tournament. You've got to take whatever comes your way, and we've had a rocky road, but I guess if you look at the standings at the moment, we win the last game, we'll be in a good position to go with a lot of confidence into the quarters. Yes, we would have liked to win those two games, the two big games against India and Pakistan. It didn't happen that way, and there's no time to sulk about that now. It's a really important stage of our World Cup moving forward. Now it's important to be confident, and I still want the boys to believe we're the best, which we are. We're just going to go in with that kind of attitude in tomorrow's game, and then whatever comes around for the quarters, we'll take it head on. Q. Also you say that you were -- you noticed the team was low on energy going into the Pakistan game. How are they doing today? AB de VILLIERS: Yeah, like I said, that's past tense now. We've moved on from that. As a captain you sometimes get a feel going into a game beforehand in the warm-up if the guys are over-intense, if the guys are in a good space, if guys are too relaxed. Those things change every single game we play, and that's what I was referring to. We were a little bit low on energy. That energy is back. Maybe we're a little bit too relaxed. There are a lot of maybes. But it changes every single game, and I do believe the intensity will almost have to be pulled back if we do make the quarterfinals and the semis and things like that. We almost have to pull that back because the guys could get over-eager again, so you've got to get that balance right in everything you do in tournaments like this, and that's what we'll be focusing on. I believe the confidence and energy is really good at the moment. Q. As a captain how many plans do you go in with with your bowlers at the death? How quickly do they necessarily get thrown out? How adaptive do you have to be, and what sort of conversations do you have at that time? AB de VILLIERS: You've got to adapt all the time. I go in with a very open mind. The bowlers are pretty clear with what they're trying to achieve, and it doesn't always work, and you've got to change your mind all the time, change your plans, make sure you think on your feet and try and make it uncomfortable for the batter out there. So a lot of analysis goes into that. You study all the batters, you study the different strengths that they have and their batting techniques and you try and counter that with clever and smart bowling and plans. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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