World Cup 2019: Need to cope with 'fear of failure', says Du Plessis

Skipper du Plessis stressed that his teammates need to avoid doing "Superman things" and instead focus on overcoming the "fear of failure" ahead of the World Cup 2019.

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis stressed that his teammates need to avoid doing "Superman things" and instead focus on overcoming the "fear of failure" ahead of the World Cup 2019. South Africa has been tagged as ‘chokers’ because of their reputation of never being able to make it to the finals of the 50-overs mega event in the past. "In previous World Cups, we wanted to do Superman things. We thought we had to be more special, we had to do something more than we usually do, and we did not do what was good enough before," Du Plessis was quoted as saying by the ICC . "We haven't always got that right in the past, to play our best cricket at the World Cup, because we put so much pressure on ourselves. We want to just focus on enjoying our cricket," he added. Du Plessis wants his squad to be mentally prepared for the tournament which will be imperative for the team's success in England. "There's a reason why we want the guys to play freely - because we don't want them to have a fear of failure, which is what the World Cup is for some of them. "Our success in England over the next couple of months depends on how well we release that aspect of our play - we need that for the team to be at our best. Each player needs to find out his own strengths," he said. The 34-year-old hopes to draw on his own experience to help his teammates grapple with the pressure of the high-intensity tournament.