KOLKATA: It was yet another picture of despair as South Africa were knocked out of the ICC World Cup at the semifinal stage again - for the fifth time to be precise.
The South African coach, however, felt proud of his boys, brushing away the 'choker' tag that the side has often been branded with. "For me a choke is losing a game that you're in a position to win," coach Rob Walter said.
"In this instance we were behind right from the word go and we actually fought our way back and put up a score that gave us a chance. And then they got off to a flyer and we fought and put ourselves back into the game. There's nothing even remotely close to a choke that happened out there today. It was a serious contest between two good teams; number two and three in the tournament," he stated at the post-match press conference.
Trying to get over the disappointment, Walter stated, "It's gutting to lose a semifinal, but I'm incredibly proud of the fight shown by the lads. "If you went into the changing room now it'd be pretty quiet. The guys would obviously be gutted but what can you do but do your best and leave everything on the park for your country? And I don't think anyone could question that today," he said. Looking back, the coach felt the first few overs perhaps made the difference.
"The first 12 overs of batting was a serious challenge. And ultimately, I think that's what separated the teams." Taking the defeat in his stride, Walter felt South African cricket can look ahead to brighter days.
"We've seen guys play unbelievable cricket and probably surprise a lot of people in this room and around the world. That is what fuels them to come back and be better. I'm excited. I think there's huge scope for us to grow as a team and to play even better than we have. And the majority of the people who are going to be on their journey are still in that changing room," he ended on an optimistic note.
