Bavuma says complacency won’t creep in World Cup opener

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma insists that the Proteas won’t take anything for granted when they take on Sri Lanka next month in their opening game of the Cricket World Cup.

The South African national cricket team are still looking for their maiden World Cup title. They face a Sri Lankan side that has struggled in recent years but Bavuma admits that the team is wary of lower-ranked teams.

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“Those conversations have been happening since last year’s T20 World Cup,” the Proteas captain was quoted on the Citizen.

Bavuma says India and England are favourites

Last year, the Proteas were eliminated from the T20 World Cup after suffering an embarrassing defeat to the Netherlands in the group stages.

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“We’ve been challenging ourselves and each other to make sure that awareness is there and we’re not taking things for granted.

“But we’ve also needed to find actual, practical ways as to what we need to do to keep that awareness up and ensure that our eye is on the ball and we try stay in the present moment as much as we can,” Bavuma said.

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The team has already landed in India and will play Afghanistan and New Zealand in their Warm-Up games.

Bavuma believes hosts India and defending champions England are favourites to win the tournament.

“India, as the host country, are playing in their own conditions and they’ll know what to expect, so you obviously can’t look past them. And England obviously are the reigning champions,” he said.

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“But all the teams, if they play well, can really have a shot at the World Cup.”

Bavuma and his troops open their World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka on 7 October in Delhi.

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