South Africa cricketer Andile Phehlukwayo believes Proteas aren’t too far away from ending their World Cup drought despite their woeful performance in the showpiece event in England and Wales last year.
South Africa managed to win just three matches out of nine and crashed out in the league stage itself with just seven points.
Phehlukwayo, who was part of the South Africa World Cup squad in 2019, feels the younger generation is hungry to perform on the biggest stage and that might turn their fortunes around at the multi-national ICC events in the future.
“I really believe it will happen. Maybe it didn’t look like it at the 2019 World Cup, where we really didn’t look after situations that on normal occasions we would take care of, but if you look at the current generation, it’s a lot of new players who are really hungry to perform,” Phehlukwayo was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
“Even in our current rebuilding phase, we have managed to beat strong teams who already have their formula set. It’s all about the mindset. Our brand is work in progress but we all know where we want to be. We are fully committed.”
The 24-year considers himself to be an all-rounder, despite him doing better with the ball in recent times. In 58 ODIs, he has managed to score just 563 runs while he has scalped 69 wickets. In 27 T20Is, he has scored just 92 runs but picked 35 wickets.
“I believe I’m a genuine all-rounder because I can win games with bat or ball, but I understand that those arguments about the kind of player someone is would look at the stats,” Phehlukwayo said.
“I don’t think they consider whether the team needs you to bat or bowl more. Also the circumstances and environment on the day will dictate whether you will be better at one discipline in the situation.
“And then it’s also about the opportunity and how long you’re able to bat or bowl on the day. Sometimes you’re only at the crease for a very short period, for example, and it’s about the impact you can make in that time.”
