‘It was just a crazy 18 hours’: South Africa unfazed by hectic Dubai trip ahead of Champions Trophy semi-final | Cricket News

South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen, proper, and Heinrich Klaasen. (AP Photo)

South Africa’s journey to the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals took an sudden detour, with the staff flying to Dubai and again inside 18 hours. However, as they put together to face New Zealand in Lahore on Wednesday, batter Heinrich Klaasen insists the whirlwind trip is not going to affect their efficiency.
The journey chaos stemmed from the event’s scheduling, which required each South Africa and Australia to journey to the United Arab Emirates whereas awaiting the outcome of the ultimate Group A match between India and New Zealand. With India securing victory and topping the group, solely Australia remained in Dubai for his or her semi-final towards India, whereas South Africa made a swift return to Pakistan.
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Despite the disruption, Klaasen believes the staff is well-prepared. “It was not ideal for the bodies, but we had some time to get out and walk about. We knew ahead of time that two teams were going to have to travel,” he mentioned.
The fast turnaround meant the Proteas needed to endure two flights of round 5 hours every inside a brief interval. But Klaasen downplayed any issues about fatigue, saying, “We haven’t travelled a lot in this competition, to be fair. It was just a crazy 18 hours. We could stretch our legs and recover before we had to come back. It is part of professional cricket these days. There is not much more to say about it.”

Now settled in Lahore, South Africa are shifting focus to the circumstances they’ll face of their essential knockout match towards the Black Caps. “It is quite chilly (in Lahore), so I think the ball will swing a little bit more. It is a good skill that needs to be applied. But Pakistan is a nice place to bat,” Klaasen famous.
South Africa’s current report in ICC occasions provides them confidence. They reached the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup and completed as runners-up in final yr’s T20 World Cup. Klaasen believes these experiences will serve them nicely.
“The nerves are a little bit less because we have more experience in the semi-final department,” he mentioned. “We are playing good cricket at ICC events, we have just had some bad luck and things not go our way. We are holding our composure in the bigger moments. The big boys just need to step up on Wednesday.”
A victory over New Zealand would ship South Africa into the ultimate, the place they’d face both India in Dubai or Australia in Lahore. By then, the Proteas will hope their sudden journey detour shall be a distant reminiscence.