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T20 World Cup, SA vs AFG: Speaking to the reporters after the thrilling encounter, Ryan Rickelton opened up on why South Africa proffered Keshav Maharaj over Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen for the second Super Over against Afghanistan.

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00:00Best way to start is just thoughts, please.
00:04Cricket sucks. That's the number one thought, I think.
00:07Yeah, I think, yes, it was a cracking game.
00:10I actually don't even have many words to describe him.
00:12Just really chuffly got over the line in the end.
00:15Are you guys speaking to KG yet?
00:17No, KG will give him a bit of time, but we'll get our arms around him.
00:21We'll probably get a couple of drinks down him later.
00:24And, yeah, he's one of us, too thick and thin, so he's always going to be there.
00:28Did you think, I mean, do super overs, after that second super over,
00:33did you think that, okay, now they need 24 or four balls,
00:37and then they almost got there?
00:39I mean, yeah, I don't know.
00:41I think, obviously, the anxiety of that, I said to Dave, he was next to me,
00:45I said, come on, two dots, we win this game, wickets,
00:47and then three sixes in a row, you obviously set the cat among the pigeons there.
00:51So we were just standing there saying, surely not, this can't be real.
00:55But, like I say, just over the moon that we managed to get over the line.
01:06Yeah, first of all, thank you very much,
01:07because it's one of the best match we have seen.
01:10Second divide, Maharaj was selected for the final over.
01:13Was there anything been discussed out, and not to go with the...
01:16Why Keshav?
01:18Why Keshav was selected?
01:20I actually was unsure.
01:21I thought KG or Marco was going to go, but it came from Shukri,
01:25so he thinks Kesh should go.
01:28And, yeah, credit to you.
01:30I guess it worked.
01:30It came down to the last wire.
01:33We tried to change it up, I think, bowl slow and wide,
01:35and try to get them to hit over extra cover for six to the big boundary.
01:38That would be the thinking,
01:39which is probably the most difficult shot to do, I think.
01:42So I guess that would have been the plan.
01:45Yeah, just glad, like I say, glad it came off.
01:50Rix, can you just tell us, like, what happens in those times before,
01:53like, the game ends, and then you decide who's going to bat,
01:55and are guys saying, yeah, I want to go, or is it Shukri deciding?
01:59I think it's generally the discussion between, you know,
02:03the death hitters, Dave and Aiden.
02:06You know, Quinny and I and Aiden were kind of, you know,
02:10we weren't options, I suppose,
02:12but, I mean, that's why you've got guys like Miller and Stubbs,
02:14guys that can finish games, that can hit those low-full tosses for six,
02:18and that last shot of Stubbo, that low-full toss for six to take us
02:21to the second over proves exactly why, you know, they're worth their money.
02:24It's incredibly difficult, but the discussion was always our big hitters,
02:28Brevis, Stubbs, Miller were always going to be the three.
02:30If you had to describe the kinds of feelings, you know,
02:33you're watching there, there's nothing you can really do, I suppose,
02:35you know, is it, how would you describe just that whole last bit?
02:38Just anxiety, I think we're standing there,
02:40all of us sitting there upstairs, fingers crossed, like,
02:42come on, guys, come on, guys, just more hope than anything,
02:45but, yeah, like I said, it was an absolute whirlwind of a game.
02:49Yeah, we were all in it, we rode the emotions,
02:52obviously, just like everyone else did,
02:54and it was pretty tough, I will say,
02:56but, yeah, just glad that we got over the line.
03:01Ryan, it must seem like last week that you were out there
03:02sharing a century stand with Quinton, do you even remember it?
03:06I do remember it quite well.
03:08Lovely to bet with Quinny, you know, he's such an ace for us.
03:12Controls the game really well and helped me through that period as well.
03:15I think we're complementing each other quite nicely
03:17when we have a partnership, so, yeah,
03:20hopefully looking forward to spending more time out there with him.
03:22And then, just, what does it do to a team
03:25to come through a hard struggle like that
03:27quite early in a tournament?
03:29It feels like a good thing.
03:30It does, yeah, it gives us a proper wake-up call, you know,
03:32things you can't take for granted.
03:35Afghanistan's a team that's a serious cricket team,
03:37no one ever took them for granted,
03:38but it's just the small things when you have opportunities
03:40to close down games or when you have opportunities
03:43with, you know, the foot on their throats,
03:45you've got to really, you can't let any team back in.
03:47So, it is a bit of a wake-up call, I'd like to think,
03:49just in trying to have that edge, have that sharpness,
03:52and when you get ahead, stay ahead,
03:55and just make sure that you're looking after
03:56those really small things.
03:59Like I said, it can come back to bite you,
04:01so it'd be a nice wake-up call for all of us,
04:04and a lot of things we can get better at.
04:07Just on Quinny, he's so sharp, you know,
04:09and the run-out today was one example.
04:11What have you seen from him in terms of the things
04:14he's been working on and, you know,
04:15and the fielding in general, I suppose,
04:17he's kind of leading the energy there?
04:19Yeah, he just has this aura, I suppose, about him.
04:22You know, he's pulling guys left, right, and centre.
04:24He has a presence.
04:25He doesn't really, you know, make a lot of noise
04:27behind the stumps, but he has a strong presence.
04:30We all know where to, you know,
04:31we all know where our eyes are going between him and Aiden,
04:34but it's just the sharpness of the game,
04:36what he sees from behind the stumps,
04:38the words he gives in the team chats, you know,
04:40when they're drinks or wickets or something like that.
04:42He actually runs a lot more than you think.
04:45Yeah, so he's a complete asset.
04:47He's obviously played a hell of a lot of cricket.
04:48He's seen a lot of things before as well.
04:50So, you know, he'll definitely weigh in
04:52on what needs to be said tonight and tomorrow
04:54and on the reflection of the game.
04:56But he's definitely got that sharpness, that presence.
04:59Yeah, and I think we can all learn a lot from him
05:01just about how in tune he is with the game.
05:10Do you think South Africa's fielding pieces,
05:13those runouts, those couple of catches,
05:16made a little difference in the end, you know?
05:20Yes, fielding always makes a bit of a huge difference, I suppose.
05:24You know, we have, I think we have a really good fielding unit.
05:28We've got guys that catch well, we've got guys that move well.
05:30I mean, that catch off that George took to dismiss,
05:33goodbye, it was a game-changing moment.
05:35And I think the sharpness that we have, you know,
05:37among the ground fielding and in the air as well,
05:40our catching percentages are quite good.
05:43And it's something that we always need to top up with.
05:45Because like you said, the small moments,
05:47Quinny throwing to the other side to get that run out,
05:49again, saves a run in the biggest scheme of things today.
05:52That's a massive, massive win for us.
05:55So it's something that we're always topping up on
05:56and something that we can always, you know,
05:58try to hold on to, especially,
06:00and make sure we get it right in those clutch moments.
06:03Great, thanks very much.
06:05Thanks, guys.
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