Choking is a thing of past, insists De Villiers

Power-packed South Africa go into the World Twenty20 starting in Sri Lanka on Tuesday determined not to be ridiculed any more as the perennial chokers of international cricket.

Limited-overs captain AB de Villiers warned rivals in the 12-nation tournament that they will see a new, determined South Africa in action who are capable of going all the way.

“I am going to be very honest with you, and I am going to put it up straight up front -- we have choked in the past and we know about it,” de Villiers told reporters in Colombo.

“We have had some really bad experiences in the past. But I emphasis the word ‘past’. We
have come with a new look in this team and we have worked hard with our new management team that has given us a lot of energy and new ideas.

“So we will approach this tournament differently and we like to win in pressure situations and we are going to do exactly that. We are prepared and excited to take the field.”
De Villiers believes the World Twenty20 is a wide open tournament where the team that handles pressure better than the others will win.

“There are a lot of favourites, a lot of good teams and plenty of talent around,” said the South African captain.

“When the game is up for the taking, it’s up to the 11 guys there to take it away from the opposition. To handle pressure will be important.”

The Proteas, drawn with hosts Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Group C of the preliminary league, open their campaign against their African neighbours in Hambantota on Thursday.