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South African captain Temba Bavuma admitted to feeling hurt after their shocking loss to the Netherlands in the 2023 World Cup game on Tuesday. However, the right-handed batter placed faith in his side to resurrect their campaign.
The Dutch created one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, defeating the Proteas by 38 runs in Dharamshala. Batting first, the Netherlands slipped to 140-7, but skipper Scott Edwards' 78 led them to 245-8 in a 43-over contest. Later, the bowlers cut through South Africa's top order as the continuous pressure did the trick.
Speaking after the game, Bavuma said they must remember this defeat and try to move forward. The 33-year-old wants South Africa to treat this as a wake-up call and return with an improved showing. He stated, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:
"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."
Edwards' 69-ball 78, combined with contributions of Roelof van der Merwe and Aryan Dutt, set the Proteas a 246-run target. The South African bowlers were not disciplined enough, giving away 32 extras.
"The fielding wasn't up to standard" - Temba Bavuma
Bavuma reflected that the Proteas fielded nowhere near as they did against Australia. He highlighted the need to have honest conversations in the dressing room ahead of their remaining matches, adding:
"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."
South Africa will next face England, who were defeated by Afghanistan on Sunday.
