Southampton: South Africa's washed-out World Cup game against the West Indies has put them in danger of being ousted from semifinal contention but captain Faf du Plessis is pleased that they did not have to play in a rain-shortened game which would have favoured the Caribbeans.
A struggling South Africa got their first point of the World Cup after their game against the West Indies was abandoned due to persistent rain here on Monday.
"The further the game goes, the closer to a T20 game, being two down already, the odds are heavily in their favour. So, as it got a bit later in the day, then you would rather get the point and go," du Plessis said after the match was abandoned.
South Africa were 29 for two in the eighth over when rain stopped play and intermittent showers meant no play was possible for the rest of the game, giving them their first point after three back-to-back losses against England, Bangladesh and India.
"We need to start playing better cricket, more consistent and more solid cricket. If we do that, and the results start happening one by one, then this team will get a lot of confidence from that for the later stages."
South Africa have to start winning matches to maintain any hopes of making the semifinals. But du Plessis is happy that his team is free of any cracks which can develop when on a losing streak.
"Generally, I find that when a team starts losing two or three games, it can happen that there are a few cracks that can appear in a team and the blame game can start. And I do honestly believe that we have been very far away from that," the skipper said.
"The feeling in the camp is still very strong. The guys are still enjoying. It is just performance-wise, we haven't put in the performances we need. That is a strong sign of us as a team, as a culture, and that is one aspect of performance. Now it is just the performance and the skill side of cricket that needs to take over."
He hoped the individuals within the team will stand up and pull the side up.
"You need one guy getting a great hundred," du Plessis said.
"KG (Kagiso Rabada) did that against India as a small part of a role in a game. He picked the bowling unit up by just being the X-factor player that he is, so right now, we need individuals to stand up and step up to lift the team's morale. If you get that going, then other players can feed off their confidence."
