Cricket SA’s director of cricket Enoch Nkwe says the measures they are putting in place will help the Proteas deal with potential pressure moments in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in India in October. 

With the Proteas, whenever they play at the World Cup there are always reservations from the public as they have seen them stumbling on countless occasions since readmission. Semifinal exits in the 1999 and 2007 World Cup to Australia and other disappointing displays have seen the Proteas dubbed as "chokers". 

The Proteas under mentor Rob Walter and Temba Bavuma’s captaincy seem to have turned the page. The team secured direct qualification for the World Cup last month, and they have already started the preparation for the 50-over tournament, with the five One-Day Internationals with Australia at home set to serve as a dress rehearsal.

“There’s been quite a lot happening behind the scenes since qualifying, even since the last game of the season we didn’t take our foot off the pedal,” said Nkwe.

“We’ve already had national camps with a small group of players; ensuring there’s continuous development with our players, clarity in role definition and everything is in line with our World Cup at the end of the year.

“We are going to have the main camp because all the players will be back, that’s going to be at the end of June into July building up to the Cricket Awards. It’s going be a 10-day camp, it’s going to be an intense camp, and we’ll be tapping into the team culture,” he said. 

The lack of defined team culture over the years has been one of the reasons the Proteas have ’choked’ when the pressure is on. Nkwe believes the improved team camaraderie and playing philosophy will eradicate the culture of falling short when under pressure. 

“The players in the system know each other very well, it’s the work of the coaches to align them, ensuring that they can push each other and create a very enabling environment that understands that we are all about excellence,” he said. 

“We are fine-tuning what the baseline of when we are under pressure will look like. The exciting thing is that for the first time in a while, the players are pulling in one direction, it is exciting,” Nkwe said.