Marnus Labuschagne has called for a quick turnaround from the Australian side after their big defeat to South Africa on Thursday, October 12.
Australia faced a crushing defeat at the hands of South Africa. This was Australia’s heaviest World Cup defeat to date. The Australian team was set a target of 312 runs by South Africa, but they fell significantly short, managing only 177 runs in 40.5 overs. This resulted in a staggering loss by 134 runs, marking a low point in Australia’s World Cup history.
The Australian team’s performance was marred by a series of unfortunate events. Their batting display was dismal, with the team being bowled out for a meager 177. Adding to their woes were two contentious third-umpire decisions that went against Steven Smith and Marcus Stoinis, further dampening their spirits and contributing to their defeat.
However, Labuschagne called for a quick turnaround while talking at the post-match press conference. The batter also suggested that the team can play well when they’re under pressure.
“We can be disappointed about this performance, we can be disappointed about lots of things… but the reality is you can’t sit and sulk in the changing room,” Labuschagne said after Australia’s 134-run loss to South Africa.
“We’ve got to take action and we’ve got to get our tournament underway and in three days time we’ve got Sri Lanka here and I don’t know how, this is my first World Cup, but I don’t know how the points system works but we’re going to need to win every game from here I assume or at least very, very close to get into that four.
“But once again, it’s the reason Australia has won the World Cup five times. It is because we play well under pressure and we haven’t started well, but this is the beginning not the end.”
It wasn’t just their batting that let them down. Australia’s fielding performance was equally disappointing. Led by Pat Cummins, the team was uncharacteristically sloppy on the field. They dropped five chances during South Africa’s innings, which proved costly in the end. These missed opportunities allowed South Africa to build a formidable score, putting Australia under immense pressure during their chase.
Labuschagne said that there are no excuses for their performance on the field, as they consider themselves to be one of the best fielding sides in the world. He went on to further say that the team will need to bounce back quickly from the loss.
“I’m not here to sit and make excuses,” said Labuschagne.
“We’re playing the World Cup for Australia and we have to be ready and we have to be better than that.”
“It’s hard to put your finger on it. We’re one of the best fielding sides in the world – we pride ourselves on that and we just didn’t seem to get it right today.”
“We created opportunities and just didn’t take them and it just wasn’t a great performance from us. But we have to bounce back and get this train rolling.”
