00:00 much and thank you very much for joining us and of course Temba as well. We'll get straight
00:04 into it. We're going to take a couple of questions just from the South African press before we
00:08 go to the wider room. Who would like to start us off there? Talford?
00:15 How's it Temba? It's been quite a few days for you. How's the hamstring and how's just
00:23 your state of mind? Physically I feel alright. Obviously not 100%. So obviously this day
00:30 becomes important in terms of decision about tomorrow. I'm quite confident but it's not
00:41 a unilateral decision that will be made. In the state of mind, obviously a bit nervous
00:50 of the game. It will be our first semi-final as a team. I think the feeling is no different
00:57 I guess from any game that we've encountered within the World Cup.
01:05 When you say not 100% can you just say what it is that maybe doesn't feel 100%? I mean
01:13 we know it's the hamstring but what do you need to do today to feel like to get that
01:18 tick and to be able to play tomorrow? I think it's just using the rest day. Continue
01:22 with my rehab. I'll still be continuing with my rehab today on the field doing some fielding
01:28 stuff. Yeah, I can't tell you medically but I think for me from a feeling point of view
01:35 that's what I can attest to.
01:45 Jemba, I'm over here. In terms of state of mind collectively with the squad and the players
01:52 your team, do you have any plans for this evening? Are you going to knock on doors and
02:02 give everyone a hug or are you just going to leave them to do their own thing and prepare
02:06 in their own way?
02:09 Most of the guys have opted to take the option with optional training today. So I think from
02:15 a skill point of view, from a physical point of view, guys are quite confident from their
02:19 point of view. We'll have our normal evening team meeting where the team will be announced.
02:26 I'm sure there will be conversations that happen there within the meetings around the
02:30 equation, I mean around the occasion of tomorrow. But I honestly don't anticipate it to be any
02:37 different. There's a sense of calmness within the team and obviously a normal level of anxiety
02:44 that you would expect going into the game tomorrow. But I think we'll take a lot of
02:49 confidence with our performances up until this point. But yeah, I don't think I'll be
02:56 going around giving guys hugs.
03:06 For you personally, obviously we know it's not 100% that you're going to play but can
03:13 you just speak from your point of view, what it would mean for you and everything you've
03:17 gone through in your career to lead South Africa on the field in a World Cup semi-final?
03:22 Yeah, it would be massive. I've tried not to really allow myself to get into that space.
03:29 You obviously want to treat it as just another game. But I guess you're forcing me to acknowledge
03:38 that occasion. It's obviously something that I'll be looking forward to and something that
03:45 I'll savour in that moment with that opportunity. I know it will mean a lot for the family and
03:52 people and people back home. And obviously it would be nice to be having another press
04:02 conference with you guys on the 18th of November. But yeah, try not to get too much into all
04:09 those emotions. It's just another game.
04:16 Just on the composition of your team, the last time you guys played here you went with
04:23 the two front line spinners. Do the conditions suggest that you do the same? Until when will
04:31 you leave that before making a decision?
04:34 Yeah, I mean, I'm glad to say, if it is up to me, I'm definitely playing our two front
04:41 line spinners. Obviously in Keshav and Shamsi, we obviously have Aiden as well, who also
04:48 gives us an option there. Then I think it's just finalising in terms of the three seamers,
04:53 who that may be. But like you say, conditions, opposition as well, really give us that as
05:00 an option for us.
05:03 Timbo, I know every semi-final South Africa played in over the years is important, but
05:10 do you get a sense that this one is also perhaps one of the more significant ones symbolically
05:16 as well? You guys have been credited with creating a really good team environment, a
05:21 good team. And also given the adversity you guys had to go through to effect this turnaround
05:28 basically in nine months, is actually really significant. So is this truly symbolically
05:34 one of the more significant semi-finals, do you believe, in South African cricket?
05:39 I guess they're all important, the semi-finals. I think, like you say, with the way we've
05:46 performed as a team, it's obviously created a lot of positive sentiment, but obviously
05:52 high expectation. A lot of people believe that this could be the year that we see ourselves
05:59 within the final. And I mean, look, as a team, individually, we'd like nothing better than
06:04 that. But we also respect the game of cricket. We're not coming up against a Mickey Mouse
06:11 team. Australia have a lot of experience and confidence in knockout games like this, so
06:18 we've got to respect that. I'd hate to say that we deserve to go through because of the
06:23 way we played our cricket. I don't think that's the way things go. But I think, yeah, from
06:30 our performances, from the processes that we've followed to get to this point, we'll
06:35 continue to lean on that. And we believe that will take care of the result in itself.
06:43 Hello. Timba. Welcome to Witten Gardens. There's a little bit of shade of FIFA World Cup in
06:50 this ICC World Cup. There was a race for golden ball between Mbappe and Messi, and here is
07:06 the race between Virat Kohli and Dicko. Where would you put these two players in terms of
07:11 performance? Look, I mean, Quinton, he's been magnificent for us, obviously being our leading
07:18 run scorer. I think at one point he was the leading World Cup scorer as well, so I think
07:26 that speaks volumes in itself. Knowing Quinton, I don't think he's really paying much attention
07:33 to all of that. I think his focus is really on contributing as best as he can within football
07:41 for the team. I guess the stats are always just a reflection of everything the guys do
07:47 behind the scenes. Virat Kohli, obviously an incredible player, and again he's cemented
07:54 himself as one of the legends within the game. So I'm not sure what is motivating him, but
08:01 obviously it being a home World Cup, he'd also like to bring it back for his people
08:07 within India. I think with Quinton as well, not sharing too much from his side, he'd like
08:13 to really leave with the bang.
08:16 Hi, Temba. You said you weren't 100 per cent, first of all. Just wondering if you can put
08:22 a rough estimate on whether it's 70 per cent or 99 per cent where you think you are with
08:27 that hamstring. Also, you spoke about feeling a little bit nervous. Have the other players
08:32 spoken to you about feeling nervous themselves? What have you or the other senior players
08:38 said to them about how to channel that or how to handle it?
08:42 I'll start with the last one. There's been an acknowledgement of the emotions. I don't
08:46 think you can deny or run away with that. But there's also been solutions or mechanisms
08:53 that have been given as to how to deal with that anxiety if you feel that it overwhelms
08:59 yourself. I think that advice also flows to the senior players. I think there's only two
09:05 guys in this group that have gone into a semi-final, Quinton and David Miller, so there's not a
09:10 lot of experience from all the other guys. But there's been that acknowledgement of those
09:17 emotions as well as solutions and mechanisms.
09:21 In terms of from a percentage point of view that I can't really give you, like I said,
09:28 today is another day. It's obviously an important day and I will use it as best as I can to
09:33 make sure that I'm close to my best from a physical point of view.
09:40 To the obvious privilege of leading your country in a semi-final, which you've spoken about
09:45 a little while ago, does some way of pressure also sneak in given the fact that the runs
09:49 haven't come off your back? And if it does, how do you deal with that going into what
09:53 would possibly be a very crucial match for you and the team?
09:57 I think I've said this quite a lot. The pressure is always there. I think every player feels
10:03 pressure whether you're doing well, whether you're not doing well. It comes in different
10:07 forms. I think for me, it's important that I feel I try to separate the two, being the
10:14 captain and leader of the team. Make sure that you're doing that as well as you can,
10:20 trying to create the calmness and belief within the team going into an occasion like this.
10:25 And then there's obviously me being the batter, making sure that I'm close to my best. Yes,
10:32 I haven't scored the bulk of the runs within the team. I've got it in quite a couple of
10:38 times and haven't converted. So I guess from that point of view, also knowing that I play
10:44 a key role with Quinton up top in terms of our partnership. We've been involved in a
10:48 couple of 50-plus partnerships, so I take a lot of confidence in that. I guess tomorrow
10:53 my focus will be a lot on that, making sure that if we're batting first, we make sure
10:57 we take care of the first 10 overs. And then generally after that, it's about me personally
11:04 as a batter and if I can be ruthless. So the pressure will always be there. I think even
11:11 if at this point I was averaging 50 or whatever, I'd still feel pressure. But you have to go
11:18 out there and deal with it.
11:21 Q. The Springboks are an inspiration to a lot of South Africans and they recently won
11:28 their fourth World Cup. I know you guys are also professional cricketers and professional
11:31 athletes, but do you ever look up to them as an inspiration for what they have done
11:35 and the mental fortitude they have to get into cricket here?
11:39 A. Yeah, definitely. I think to a large degree we look at them in awe, the Springboks and
11:46 how they've gone about their back-to-back wins within the World Cup. Obviously the way
11:53 they won it this year with the knockout games being quite close and again how that resilience,
12:01 how that do-or-die attitude came through. That's what we've been speaking about as a
12:07 team, that when the crunch moment comes, when the pressure moments come, we come together
12:12 as a team and we find a way to get over the line. We also accept that it's for us to control
12:19 what we can control, what our story is within the Proteas. We know what we'd like to look
12:25 like. We want to be there on the 19th of November, but for us to do that we've got to focus and
12:32 deal with tomorrow as best as we can.
12:40 Q. One thing is that last time your batters collapsed against India, especially against
12:47 Ravindra Jain's spin. So that time also the area of concern is the spin because yesterday
12:54 we saw you and your batters are practising against the spinners more than one hour.
13:01 A. I'm telling you that it's the most area of concern. This time also the spin because
13:09 you are practising against the spinners most of the time yesterday.
13:16 A. I think in terms of looking at the wicket, we feel that it potentially could be a wicket
13:21 that assists the spinners a lot more. So I guess naturally so there will be a focus on
13:26 our spin play. I don't think there's an insecurity or anything like that within our spin play
13:32 as a team. We know we've played spin quite well from whatever angle you look at it statistically
13:38 or whatever. So I think it's just the guys covering their bases. Yes, the practice was
13:45 probably long yesterday, but probably because guys wanted to take time off today and rather
13:54 mentally refresh. Coming up against Afghanistan you know that the challenge is going to be
13:59 the spin. So again, naturally so guys will spend time polishing up their game plans.
14:06 Afghanistan and Australia are obviously a different challenge. So yes, no insecurity
14:13 I think lies there in terms of our ability to play spin.
14:20 Q. Can we sing this time for Africa? Shakira music?
14:27 A. I think the stadium will play the song during the game.
14:34 Thank you very much everyone and thank you Timber for joining us today.
14:42 Thank you.
14:50 [END]
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