‘It is going to hurt, it should hurt’ – Temba Bavuma on South Africa’s heartbreaking loss to Netherlands

The Netherlands punched above their weight to serve the knockout blow to South Africa in the ODI World Cup 2023 on Tuesday, October 18, in Dharamsala.

The Dutch side recovered from 82/5 and 140/7 to 245/8 in a rain-curtailed 43-over per side contest. In reply, the Proteas scratched and clawed their way to get dismissed for 207, losing by 38 runs. South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, who had led his side to two consecutive wins to start the tournament, acknowledged after the match that this defeat would hurt. He also said that his team shouldn’t forget this loss.

“You got to let the emotion kind of seep in. Don’t think there is any point in trying to forget what’s happened. It is going to hurt, it should hurt. But then you come back tomorrow, you wake up and we get back onto the journey. Our campaign is not over by any stretch of the imagination, but you got to feel the emotion of today and come back tomorrow with the head held up,” Bavuma said at the post-match presentation.

The extras that’s something you can control: Temba Bavuma

The South African side uncharacteristically bowled a plethora of extras, 31 in total, and Bavuma felt that it should be controlled going forward in the ODI World Cup. They were also below-par on the field, something that is difficult to associate with them.

“The extras that’s something you can control. Getting 30 (31) extras, that is an extra five overs is always going to hurt you. That is a conversation for us to have – whether it is skill or a complacency thing – but at the end it did count for quite a thing. We were clinical against Australia, but the challenge was always to come back and replicate that performance. The fielding wasn’t up to standard. Again if you look at the way we fielded against Australia compared to today, definitely not the same standard. Those are conversations we need to have. The guys need to answer the questions themselves where mentally they were. That’s definitely not the standard we’d like to show from a fielding point of view,” the right-handed batter added.

Also Check: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Points Table