VIDEO COURTESY: ICC
Rob Walter- South Africa post-match press conference, 5 March '25
[Reporter:]

What is it you think that is hurting South Africa? Because it's another ICC event, another knockout stage, and going out. What do you think was a factor that went against you guys today? Was it the last 10 overs, the amount of runs New Zealand scored, or what was it?

[Rob Walter:]

I don't think it was any one particular thing that resulted in the loss, probably a couple. We could have handled the last 10 overs a little bit better. They got away from us a little bit. There was a period sort of in the middle of the innings where Kane and Rachin started to up their rates a bit. And we missed a few opportunities there, we could have slowed things down and then obviously the partnership that got broken when we were batting. We were just starting to get going and that partnership got broken and really slowed us down in the middle and obviously we saw Dave [Miller] play unbelievably well in the end to get a hundred and then you lose by 50 and you know you’re just one partnership away from doing something special.

[Reporter:]

Keshav is usually really good in the middle overs at reining an opposition side in, but Rachin and Kane really seemed to target him through that middle phase. Do you think potentially that is a point, a bit of a sliding doors moment, because obviously Santner in the second innings was quite good through that middle phase.

[Rob Walter:]

Yeah I mean obviously I think they played particularly well against Keshav. I think the ball did spin a little bit more in in the second innings which would have contributed to that but as I said I thought they played him very well. Kesh is a world-class bowler we know that so to put him under pressure and to turn the tide a little bit there changed the flow of the game So we have to commend the two world-class batters batting together. And they played particularly well.

[Reporter:]

Would you have batted first as well, if you won the toss?

[Rob Walter:]

Yeah, we would have batted first.

[Reporter:]

After losing the toss don't you think you guys didn't have plan B because the way Rachin and Kane Williamson they were playing, they were so smooth - no hassles, the ball was coming nicely onto the bat, and looked like you didn't have a plan B or plan C?

[Rob Walter:]

No, I don't think that's entirely accurate. We certainly tried to change it up, we tried to change the pace. I think the ball wasn't really gripping at that stage in the early phases, so the ball kept sliding on. I mean, it just plain to see that it was a pretty good batting wicket. I don't think you can score 360 if it's not a good batting wicket. So no, through no lack of effort, I don't think. I mean, we'd spoken about our options if it was a good wicket, which we knew it would be. And whilst, yes, we could bemoan our execution a little bit, certainly you'll never question the effort of the guys and we sort of threw whatever we could at them but unfortunately we couldn't break that partnership which really set them up to push towards the end.

[Reporter:]

Do you think Bavuma’s and Rassie [van der Dussen]'s comparatively slow innings cost Africa the match?

[Rob Walter:]

If you look at the comparative scores along the way for the first, we were only I think four runs behind at the 20-over mark and the same at 30, so I don't think their partnership cost us. We see the tempo of the game at these grounds tends to be like that. It's a good stable partnership at the start. The run rate sort of increases gradually and then there's a burst at the end. I mean we just lost a few key wickets in the middle. If we managed to maintain a strong partnership there, I think it would have been a pretty tight finish. Comparatively, if you look at the first 20 overs, there was nothing that separated the two teams.

[Reporter:]

If you compare the spin bowling attacks of both teams, New Zealand spin bowling was really good, but the South Africans couldn't bowl spin too well.

[Rob Walter:]

I mean I think you have to acknowledge the Blackcap spinners have bowled well for the whole competition thus far. Michael Bracewell sort of slides under the radar, but I think it was just two games ago that he bowled 10 overs for 24, took four wickets. And then Mitch Santner is a quality operator, so the two of them working together, mind you, their run rates were still up there. The ball did spin a bit more in the second innings, no doubt about that. And so, a bit of conditions, but also hats off to their quality as well.

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