London: South Africa great Jacques Kallis has urged the Proteas to learn lessons from England’s one-day international revival following the team’s miserable early exit from the World Cup.
A 49-run defeat by Pakistan at Lord’s on Sunday ensured that, with two games in the 10-team round-robin phase still to play, there is no way South Africa can qualify for the semi-finals. Faf du Plessis, the South Africa captain, did not pull any punches, labelling his side’s 259-9 in response to Pakistan’s 308-7 as “borderline embarrassing”. But Kallis, the outstanding all-rounder of his generation, said South Africa should take heart from the way England recovered after suffering an equally woeful first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup Eoin Morgan’s side have since risen to the top of the ODI rankings and are among the leading contenders to lift the trophy this year. “England used the disappointment of their performances in 2015 to rebuild their team and totally change their mentality and approach to one-day cricket,” wrote Kallis in an International Cricket Council column. “England now play without fear and aren’t afraid to make mistakes. For me, South Africa have approached things too defensively at this tournament” said Kallis. (AFP)
