Optimistic AB de Villiers Aims For Champions Trophy Glory

Feb 19, 2017 at 9:52 AM

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Optimistic AB de Villiers Aims For Champions Trophy Glory

It is not every day that we witness a team whitewash two opponents in successive series’ and make it look like an absolute cakewalk. Such has been the form of South Africa off late, and even without the presence of their first choice players, the Proteas have struck all chords together like an efficient unit. It is no surprise that South Africa currently is the number one ranked ODI team in the ICC Rankings.

Going into the Champions Trophy, they could well maintain that rank and are already being perceived as one of the hot favorites for the title. To add to that, the return of AB De Villiers has immensely increased their chances of success, as their ODI skipper is nothing less than a one man army. Ahead of the series against New Zealand, de Villiers admitted his team is aiming to win the Champions Trophy.

“It’s definitely a build-up towards the Champions Trophy, it’s a big goal of ours to go there and win that tournament, we know there’s a long way to go but this is a great stepping stone,” De Villiers said.

“The conditions are pretty similar – the ball moves around a bit when it’s new and you have to extend your partnerships when you get in, so it’s quite similar to the UK.

“The belief in the squad is as high as I’ve ever experienced it,” he added.

“There’s a great respect among the players and a sense of direction. It’s as simple as that. We know it can change in a matter of minutes, so there’s a deep respect for the game and the fact you can go into a dip at any time, but I really believe what we have in this team will carry us through good and bad times.”

Speaking about the series against New Zealand, de Villiers seemed in high spirits about doing well.

“It’s difficult to get yourself up for a one-game series. We chatted about that and saw it as a red flag – even though it’s not that significant, you are still representing your country,” he said.

“You are away from home and you want to start a tour off on the right note. We are hoping that momentum will take us into the ODI series. I thought we played an outstanding game of cricket. It was vital for us to start well, it doesn’t guarantee us any success in the ODIs but it was a good start,” he concluded.

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