Andile Phehlukwayo Tells How South Africa Will End Their World Cup Drought

All-rounder Phehlukwayo feels the younger generation might turn South Africa's fortunes around at future ICC events.

Photo: AFP

Johannesburg: South Africa cricketer Andile Phehlukwayo believes his national cricket team, consisting of new generation players that are really hungry to perform, is still 'a 'work in progress but not far away from ending their World Cup drought. In the World Cup 2019, South Africa faced an embarrassing early elimination as they crashed out in the league stage itself. The Proteas badly struggled with their batting, inconsistency with the ball and missed chances at important junctures in the match. All-rounder Phehlukwayo, who represented South Africa in the 2019 World Cup, feels the younger generation might turn South Africa's fortunes around at future ICC events. "I really believe it will happen. Maybe it didn't look like it at the 2019 World Cup, where we really didn't look after situations that on normal occasions we would take care of, but if you look at the current generation, it's a lot of new players who are really hungry to perform," Phehlukwayo was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "Even in our current rebuilding phase, we have managed to beat strong teams who already have their formula set. It's all about the mindset. Our brand is work in progress but we all know where we want to be. We are fully committed." The 24-year-old believes he is a genuine all-rounder but in 58 ODIs, he has picked 69 wickets and scored just 563 runs. In 27 T20Is, he has scored just 92 runs but picked 35 wickets. "I believe I'm a genuine all-rounder because I can win games with bat or ball, but I understand that those arguments about the kind of player someone is would look at the stats," Phehlukwayo said. "I don't think they consider whether the team needs you to bat or bowl more. Also the circumstances and environment on the day will dictate whether you will be better at one discipline in the situation. "And then it's also about the opportunity and how long you're able to bat or bowl on the day. Sometimes you're only at the crease for a very short period, for example, and it's about the impact you can make in that time."