ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

November 1, 2021

Dwaine Pretorius

Sheikh Zayed Stadium

South Africa

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. Yesterday or the day before when we spoke to Shammo he spoke about you being a scholar of the game and the way that your death bowling has come along in the tournament. It obviously struck all of us. Tell us about the work you've been doing in that department and how you came to be the person that got that responsibility.

DWAINE PRETORIUS: I think maybe the situation of the game just dictated that I might have to bowl a few of the last overs. We've been looking to strike quite early. And now it's been the department that has been phenomenal and (indiscernible) have been setting the tone. So, maybe Temba has a spot for me to bowl in the middle because our guys are batting so well. That left me with the end job.

But obviously as a player you try to prepare for any situation you might be thrown in. I'm just trying to prepare as best as possible. So that's basically my only secret at the moment, trying to make sure that I'm prepared for any situation, any over that I might need to bowl and making sure that I'm up for that challenge.

Q. Your success in this tournament so far, is that a reward for doing the hard work and doing the things that you always do to prepare for matches, or are you doing something differently in this tournament?

DWAINE PRETORIUS: Not really. I've been preparing the same way. Maybe it's just gone my way a bit. I mean, our bowling lineup is bowling so well. Any of those other four guys could be picking up wickets.

I think as a unit we're bowling well and at the moment the ball is just falling my way. I'm sure one of these days it's going to stop falling my way and maybe go to the other guys. As long as I can support them and we can win games for the country, at the end of the day that's all that matters.

Q. It seems also though that you're bowling to a very particular plan at the death, very full and wide, outside on some. Can you talk to us about the development of that plan and the thinking behind it and maybe what the challenges are in executing that plan?

DWAINE PRETORIUS: Look, obviously I think the dangers at the death are being predictable. So I'm trying to vary my pace and my lengths quite a bit even though my line is the same, keeping the guys guessing.

And then, like, I think I had another interview where I said I'm trying to make sure I'm bowling to the batters' plan Cs and Ds instead of their plan A. It's not an ego battle out there; it's trying to be effective as much as possible.

If I can do a job for the team, again, and put us in a better situation, I'm willing to do that ugly job if you want to call it that -- something that doesn't always necessarily look the prettiest but it's very effective. And I've built my whole career on that. So trying to do the best job that I can do for the team.

Q. Did you develop sort of a few new slower balls or is it the same type of slower balls that you've always bowled in your career?

DWAINE PRETORIUS: I've worked a lot on different variations of slow balls. So, it's definitely something that I really have focused on. Obviously in a T20 World Cup, I think if you only go to one option you might be in trouble. So really trying to mix it up, make sure that even though at the moment guys might be thinking that I'm just going to go wide every time when they face me, even though the line might be predictable, you're still not sure which ball is going to come out.

Having five options in terms of what I'm looking to do there is something that I've really worked hard on. And at the moment it's going well. So, yeah, we'll see.

Q. Question regarding the injuries that you had leading up to the World Cup. How fearful were you that you would not get a spot in this team, especially considering how many other guys were knocking on the allrounder doors? You had Vien Muda (phonetic), George Linde came into the team and did well, Andrew Lipworth and has that sort of pushed you as well in terms of keeping your performances up and so you can keep your place on this team?

DWAINE PRETORIUS: You mentioned a few great players there. Anyone can fill the spot of the allrounder. They're really great players. From my side it was a very frustrating time in my career, first rib fracture taking a catch, then missing out in terms of COVID. So, yeah, it was a bit of a challenge.

Day one, after getting COVID, I was stressed. I'm quite a religious guy. So after day one, sent up a prayer and then I just trusted that at the end of the day God's will would be done and that put me in this position. So I always trusted him. And that was my method of dealing with it mentally.

But obviously coming back into the fold before Sri Lanka, making sure that I can take as much lessons from the team that they took from the West Indies tour and made sure that I can contribute in a way. And I'm very blessed that I'm here, and as long as I can keep contributing to the team hopefully I'll be here for a while.

Q. After the last game, how confident is the batting unit given that David Miller has struck form?

DWAINE PRETORIUS: It's awesome. I think Shammo likes touching on it, and I want to touch on it too. I think our whole team, batting, bowling whatever, we're not relying on one or two superstars to get us over the line. Our whole team is contributing all the time. We can see it again in the last match. David came to the floor, even Temba got us taking us deep in difficult conditions.

And if you go through even the warm-up matches, there's a lot of guys that have gone in, scored runs. I think overall our team is in a very good space at the moment but we're not taking any matches or any results for granted.

We know that we need to keep preparing well. And then obviously bring all the intensity and passion when we get on to the field for the next game. Bangladesh is a good side, strong side, and very dangerous in these conditions, and we can't take them lightly.

Q. You mentioned having COVID. I'm just interested to know, what is the recovery process like for an elite athlete? When Heinrich Klaasen spoke about it, it sounded like it was quite bad. How do you get back into it?

DWAINE PRETORIUS: I was very fortunate when I had it. If I didn't test I probably would have thought I just had a little bit of a stuffy nose. Obviously cricket in South Africa has protocols in place, ten-day process, to get back to just normal running, making sure you can cope with the stresses.

I got through it quite easily. I know there are other players that might have struggled in the past. But again I was quite fortunate so I could get back on to the park and start training quite early. Again, very fortunate in that regard. I know there are some players that had it a bit more tougher than I had.

Q. Obviously you guys have played some two high intensity games. West Indies is one, and obviously again on Saturday against Sri Lanka. How are you maintaining that intensity, that level that you guys are asked to bring that amount of energy we saw on the field, how do you bring that again in a game against a team that can't qualify anymore?

DWAINE PRETORIUS: Well, I think to be honest with you, we've been really good in terms of our recovery protocols. Also the amount of energy we expend during training sessions, the medical staff and the coaching staff has been really hard on us by not doing anything that is unnecessary. So I think we're managing our energy levels really well.

And then obviously the basic one, put it on, your ways are there. But this puts you on your chest. You need to bring the passion. You need to bring the energy. Doesn't really matter how tired you are. We know back home there's a lot of people rooting for us and we really appreciate them. The worst thing we want to do is let them down. Every day we go on that line we make sure we leave everything on the field.

Another nice thing with this game is we've got, I think, three days before we play England. So leave everything on the field and we've got a few days to recover. And I'm sure everyone will bring their highest intensity possible.

Q. Sri Lanka and now Bangladesh both qualifiers, both subcontinent teams, both with South African cultures. Do you feel that Bangladesh will bring sort of a similar game plan to Sri Lanka, or do you think there are very different propositions?

DWAINE PRETORIUS: I'm not sure what the game plan would be, but if you look at the whole structure of the World Cup at the moment, it looks like teams are taking care of the powerplay. They're realizing that if you lose a few quick wickets there, that you're going to be in danger there.

I think they might take it as deep as Sri Lanka tried to do and see where they can fend off in the death. I think overall the structure will be very much the same. So it's obviously up to us to upset that and make sure that they can't play the game that they would like to play.

So however we're going to go about it, that's obviously our plan to make sure that we upset their way of thinking.

Q. Just about the team's doggedness and fighting spirit, what are the conversations like in the dressing room with regards to the totals you've defended and chased? You pushed Australia very, very closely when many would have thought you were dead and buried with that total. Just talk to us about the fighting spirit and that never-say-die attitude that we're seeing or we've seen in these last three matches, especially with what's happened off the field.

DWAINE PRETORIUS: I think what astonishes me is how this team has stuck together. Doesn't really matter what controversy has come out or what controversy is at board level or CSI level. This team, we've been together for quite a while now. If you think about when this group of, let's say, 20 players got together, it's been a few months now.

So the guys are, really it's cliché, but we're really forming a family. And that's probably one of the biggest advantages we have when it comes to COVID and bubble life. You're really forced to spend a lot of time together. And you start realising how much it actually means to each other to be playing for your country.

It's a special moment for all of us, and that's why it doesn't really matter if it's a single, if it's an Oval or a wide, whenever we might give that away, know that we're going to fight to get that back.

And we are not going to stop fighting until that last ball is bowled. And you can see that again in our game against Sri Lanka, Australia, even against the West Indies. We're not going to leave anything to chance. And we're going to give it our all every match. I can promise you that's our promise to each other on the team every day.