We do it our way, says de Villiers
CANBERRA: South Africa captain AB de Villiers on Tuesday backed his team to go far in the World Cup following a 201-run romp over hapless Ireland in Canberra to record their third win in Pool B.The Proteas are often regarded as the best team never to have won cricket’s showpiece
By our correspondents
March 04, 2015
CANBERRA: South Africa captain AB de Villiers on Tuesday backed his team to go far in the World Cup following a 201-run romp over hapless Ireland in Canberra to record their third win in Pool B.
The Proteas are often regarded as the best team never to have won cricket’s showpiece event, having fallen in the knock-out rounds after cruising through the league stage.
But de Villiers was confident history could be re-written this time, but preferred not to look too far ahead.
“Look I have believed for the past year that we can win the World Cup, but we are taking it pretty much match by match,” de Villiers.
“I have told the boys to try and not watch other games, just focus on what we have to do. The focus now is to play Pakistan in Auckland on Sunday.
“When we reach the quarter-finals we will think of the opposition and give it our best shot.”
South Africa’s third win in four matches brought them level on six points with defending champions India, who have played one less match. Ireland were left with four points from three games.
Score Board
South Africa won toss
South Africa
H M Amla c Joyce b McBrine 159
†Q de Kock c Wilson b Mooney 1
F du Plessis b K O’Brien 109
*A B de Villiers c N O’Brien b McBrine 24
D A Miller not out 46
R R Rossouw not out 61
Extras (b 1, w 7, nb 3) 11
Total (4 wickets; 50 overs) 411
Did not bat: F Behardien, D W Steyn, K J Abbott, M Morkel, I Tahir
Fall: 1-12, 2-259, 3-299, 4-301
Bowling: Mooney 7-2-52-1 (2nb, 1w); Sorensen 6-0-76-0 (1nb, 6w); K O’Brien 7-0-95-1; Dockrell 10-0-56-0; Stirling 10-0-68-0; McBrine 10-0-63-2
Ireland
*W T S Porterfield c du Plessis b Abbott 12
P R Stirling c de Kock b Steyn
E C Joyce c Amla b Steyn 0
N J O’Brien c Amla b Abbott 14
A Balbirnie c Rossouw b Morkel 58
†G C Wilson lbw b Abbott 0
K J O’Brien c Rossouw b Abbott 48
J F Mooney b de Villiers 8
G H Dockrell b Morkel 25
M C Sorensen c de Kock b Morkel 22
A R McBrine not out 2
Extras (lb 3, w 9) 12
Total (all out; 45 overs; 181 mins) 210
Fall: 1-17, 2-21, 3-21, 4-42, 5-48, 6-129, 7-150, 8-167, 9-200, 10-210
Bowling: Steyn 8-0-39-2; Abbott 8-0-21-4 (1w); Morkel 9-0-34-3 (3w); I Tahir 10-1-50-0; Behardien 2-0-13-0; Rossouw 2-0-13-0; du Plessis 4-0-30-0 (1w); de Villiers 2-0-7-1
Result: South Africa won by 201 runs
Points: South Africa 2, Ireland 0
Man of the Match: H M Amla (South Africa)
Umpires: S J Davis and R E J Martinesz (Sri Lanka). TV umpire: I J Gould (England). Match referee: R S Mahanama (Sri Lanka)
The Proteas are often regarded as the best team never to have won cricket’s showpiece event, having fallen in the knock-out rounds after cruising through the league stage.
But de Villiers was confident history could be re-written this time, but preferred not to look too far ahead.
“Look I have believed for the past year that we can win the World Cup, but we are taking it pretty much match by match,” de Villiers.
“I have told the boys to try and not watch other games, just focus on what we have to do. The focus now is to play Pakistan in Auckland on Sunday.
“When we reach the quarter-finals we will think of the opposition and give it our best shot.”
South Africa’s third win in four matches brought them level on six points with defending champions India, who have played one less match. Ireland were left with four points from three games.
Score Board
South Africa won toss
South Africa
H M Amla c Joyce b McBrine 159
†Q de Kock c Wilson b Mooney 1
F du Plessis b K O’Brien 109
*A B de Villiers c N O’Brien b McBrine 24
D A Miller not out 46
R R Rossouw not out 61
Extras (b 1, w 7, nb 3) 11
Total (4 wickets; 50 overs) 411
Did not bat: F Behardien, D W Steyn, K J Abbott, M Morkel, I Tahir
Fall: 1-12, 2-259, 3-299, 4-301
Bowling: Mooney 7-2-52-1 (2nb, 1w); Sorensen 6-0-76-0 (1nb, 6w); K O’Brien 7-0-95-1; Dockrell 10-0-56-0; Stirling 10-0-68-0; McBrine 10-0-63-2
Ireland
*W T S Porterfield c du Plessis b Abbott 12
P R Stirling c de Kock b Steyn
E C Joyce c Amla b Steyn 0
N J O’Brien c Amla b Abbott 14
A Balbirnie c Rossouw b Morkel 58
†G C Wilson lbw b Abbott 0
K J O’Brien c Rossouw b Abbott 48
J F Mooney b de Villiers 8
G H Dockrell b Morkel 25
M C Sorensen c de Kock b Morkel 22
A R McBrine not out 2
Extras (lb 3, w 9) 12
Total (all out; 45 overs; 181 mins) 210
Fall: 1-17, 2-21, 3-21, 4-42, 5-48, 6-129, 7-150, 8-167, 9-200, 10-210
Bowling: Steyn 8-0-39-2; Abbott 8-0-21-4 (1w); Morkel 9-0-34-3 (3w); I Tahir 10-1-50-0; Behardien 2-0-13-0; Rossouw 2-0-13-0; du Plessis 4-0-30-0 (1w); de Villiers 2-0-7-1
Result: South Africa won by 201 runs
Points: South Africa 2, Ireland 0
Man of the Match: H M Amla (South Africa)
Umpires: S J Davis and R E J Martinesz (Sri Lanka). TV umpire: I J Gould (England). Match referee: R S Mahanama (Sri Lanka)
-
Camila Mendes Finally Reveals Wedding Plans With Fiancé Rudy Mancuso -
Beatrice, Eugenie Blindsided By Extent Of Sarah Ferguson’s Epstein Links -
Girl And Grandfather Attacked In Knife Assault Outside Los Angeles Home -
Super Bowl Halftime Show 2026: What Did Trump Say About Bad Bunny? -
Piers Morgan Defends Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Performance, Disagrees With Trump Remarks -
Andrew Lands In New Trouble Days After Royal Lodge Eviction -
Instagram, YouTube Addiction Case Trial Kicks Off In California -
Agentic Engineering: Next Big AI Trend After Vibe Coding In 2026 -
Keke Palmer Makes Jaw-dropping Confession About 'The Burbs' -
Cher Sparks Major Health Concerns As She Pushes Herself To Limit At 79 -
Former NYPD Detective Says Nancy Guthrie's Disappearance 'could Be Hoax' -
King Charles Publicly Asked If He Knew About Andrew's Connection To Epstein -
Jessie J Addresses Pregnancy Rumors After Sporting Belly Bump -
Channing Tatum Leaves Fans Scratching Their Heads With Message About South Korea -
Emma Roberts Stars In 'A Body In The Woods' -
'Our Estrangements Can Kill Us': Meghan's Co-star Weighs In On Anthony Hopkins Interview