Part of their success has been batter Tristan Stubbs, who was not initially selected for the World Cup squad, but was drafted in ahead of the tournament and has scored some crucial runs and taken vital catches.
Ahead of South Africa’s second Super Eight game against the West Indies, he gives his thoughts in the campaign to date, South Africa’s potent top six and batting with David Miller.
How big was the win against India this past weekend in terms of confidence for the rest of the tournament?
“It’s a massive win for us. I think, especially in the media over here, it was built up as this huge contest, and it was, but ultimately it was about getting the two points. We tend to thrive in those big games as a team.
“The crowd was massive, it really got us going, and in the end we got the two points heading into the rest of the competition.”
Your form has been excellent in this tournament and in the SA20. You had some well documented struggles before that. What has changed?
“Yeah, I think it comes down to playing one format for a consistent period of time. It’s so hard chopping and changing. Test cricket you have to be disciplined and your technique really matters.
“Now I’ve pretty much got until the end of August where I don’t have to worry about my front shoulder or left elbow, I’m just trying to hit it over the rope. I’ve done some work here with Albie (Morkel) and he’s been really good.
“I knew once I got the confidence back in my hitting, my game was there. Before SA20, every time I tried to clear the ropes it just didn’t work. Once I got my swing back to where it needed to be, it’s gone from there.
“In T20 it’s a lot about patterns, you get the flow of the game. If you’ve been playing Test cricket and then suddenly you come in and face 10 balls, you can feel like, ‘Jeez, I’m so far behind the game.’
“But if you’re playing T20, you walk in and you’re straight on it. So it’s really helped finally playing a lot of T20s in a row.”
You face West Indies next on Thursday, they gave Zimbabwe a thumping. You have positive experiences against them from the recent series in South Africa. Your thoughts on them?
“I think West Indies are a really good batting side. We’ve seen in this competition they’ve posted massive scores and their batters are in really good form. They bring that challenge, and they’ve also got a bowling attack that’s doing really well.
“It’s different to India, but in a way it’s a similar challenge, a really strong batting line-up that can get away from you if you’re not on it, and bowlers who can defend totals. We’ll be ready for Thursday, probably preparing in a similar way to India, and we’ll be up for it.”
The South African top six looks to be really flying at the moment …
“Ricks (Ryan Rickelton) is really enjoying that number three role. He was excited for a different challenge he hadn’t really done before.
“I think Brev (Dewald Brevis) loves number four, and Dave (David Miller) has always been better coming in a bit earlier. It’s working really well at the moment.
You have already had some crucial partnerships with Miller …
“I love batting with Dave. I watched him through my junior years and tried to mould my game around the way he plays at the back end. There’s so much experience to lean on when you’re out there in the middle.
“I’ve done a lot of batting at the back end in India in the IPL, so I’m confident in that. For me it’s about reading the situation and figuring out the best way to get to a competitive score.
“And it’s underrated, but when you play five or six games together in a row, and then you add the West Indies series on top of that, you actually learn how to bat with each other.
“I think Dave and I think very similarly about the game and our roles, it’s pretty much the same. I’ve chewed his ear off over the years and I love the way he goes about it. We speak a lot about batsmanship, which can get lost at times because everyone wants you to hit from ball one and you can lose the value of your wicket.
“Dave and I think alike on that, so it’s been awesome over the years to learn from him.”