Heinrich Klaasen: Knockout Matches No Longer Feel Like Red-Letter Days for Proteas

There was a time not that long ago when an appearance in any knockout match at an ICC event would have been a red-letter day for the Proteas, but star batsman Heinrich Klaasen said on Monday that they are more comfortable now with dealing with the pressure and expectation ahead of their Champions Trophy semifinal against New Zealand in Lahore on Wednesday.

That's because South Africa have recently almost made a habit of reaching the knockouts: they made the semifinals of the 2023 50-over World Cup, losing by three wickets to Australia; and then made the final of last year's T20 World Cup, going down narrowly by seven runs to India. 

They were also convincing winners of their semifinal in Trinidad, thumping Afghanistan by nine wickets.

"The nerves are a bit less this time because we are more experienced in the semifinal department," Klaasen said following the Proteas' return to Lahore from Dubai on Monday. 

"We've been playing some good cricket lately, some incredible cricket in ICC events, where we've just had some bad luck."

Proteas Growing Comfortable in Knockout Matches

"We've come a long way in the last three or four years, we're holding more composure now in the bigger moments and we are feeling the rewards of that now. We're looking forward to the semifinal and hopefully our big players step up on Wednesday," he told SportsBoom.co.za. 

"We know we have a big job to do on Wednesday because New Zealand have been playing some unbelievably good cricket in this tournament and in the triangular before that with us in Pakistan. We have a lot of respect for them."

Coach Walter under Pressure despite Success

The word from the corridors of Cricket South Africa before the Champions Trophy was that white-ball national coach Rob Walter was under pressure to perform at the tournament, despite the successes at the global events in 2023 and 2024.

That's because the Proteas' limited-overs form between ICC events has been poor: they have won 12 and lost 14, including the last six in a row, of the bilateral ODIs they have played since Walter took over in January 2023; and won six and lost 16 of their T20s outside of the world cup.

But unlike in previous years where South Africa were superb between world cups and would then falter on the big stage, this current crop of Proteas seems to have the knack of peaking at the right time.

Klaasen pointed out that many of the defeats in the last two years have been due to Walter rotating the teams and giving key players vital resting periods.

"What the public needs to understand is that we are trying to explore our playing group, to see what's out there and what's not in terms of talent. Because of that, when someone has to come in as a back-up at a major event, at least they will have some international experience."

"We've really tried to broaden the group and the losses will come when you do that. But as long as the big guys bring it when they come back for the ICC events then that's fine. Seven guys play in all three formats and really need rest otherwise they will break down and be missing for six months."

"Coming here, we knew there was the possibility of flying up-and-down for the semifinals, it's part of the scheduling and just unfortunate for the two teams that had to do it. Mentally, you just have to suck it up and our bodies should be better positioned having had a good break from cricket for 18 hours, while New Zealand had to play a game and then travel for six hours," Klaasen concluded.