Pretoria – Minister of Sport and Recreation of South Africa, Fikile Mbalula has called on all South Africans to support the Proteas when they face off against Sri Lanka in a World Cup quarter-final clash at the Sydney Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Acknowledging that Proteas’ penchant for losing in the knockout phase of the tournament, Mbalula said: “We must take confidence and trust the words of our team captain AB De Villiers that they won’t choke tomorrow and will play a good game and come out on top.
Mbalula called on South Africans not to focus on the past but to look to the future. “The Proteas should focus on the strengths that led the team to this stage and use them to our advantage. We are indeed privileged to have a captain like De Villiers who leads by example and a team that follows. So far the the Proteas team have put on a good fight going into the quarter-finals and we trust they will come out victorious.” - ANA