NO ROOM FOR ERROR – Jamaica Observer

NORTH SOUND, Antigua (CMC) — West Indies’ fate in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup will be determined here on Sunday, when they take on undefeated South Africa in a must-win Super Eights final match.

The Caribbean side kept their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive this week with a resounding nine-wicket win over the USA on Friday, but they now face the ultimate task of beating the Proteas at 7:30 p.m. Jamaica). , to maintain their bid for an unprecedented third title.

Their loss to England in their Super Eight opener in St Lucia on Wednesday left them under pressure to win their remaining matches, and seasoned all-rounder Roston Chase said the Rovman Powell-led unit was not doing any illusion about what awaited them. two.

“We’re in good form as well and we’re going to come in strong,” Chase said ahead of the clash at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium.

“So we’re going to compete against each other, and I think whoever is stronger will win, so it’s just for us to go out there and give it our all.

“Like I said, it’s a win-win situation. You can’t lose, so there’s no point in going out there and having fun. (We have to) focus (in it), find a way to just focus on whatever you have to do, whether it’s batting, bowling, fielding – go out there and zone out.

“Obviously also, the main thing is to enjoy it. I think sometimes people put a lot of pressure on themselves to perform. But once you enjoy it, I think it’s a little easier for you to go out there and execute what you want to do. So, like I said, may the best team win.

Ironically, the two teams met in a three-match warm-up series ahead of the tournament in Jamaica, when the West Indies dominated to come away with a clean score.

But then South Africa was missing key players, and Chase said that while it was great to win the series, the World Cup match presented a whole new challenge.

“It’s always good to win an international series. Obviously there would have been two different teams: us and South Africa have different players in the World Cup,” said Chase, 32.

“I think that will obviously stick in their minds because we played some really good cricket in this series. But it’s a different series now, it’s the big World Cup and obviously they also have stronger players in their lineup.

“They haven’t lost a game in the World Cup yet, so they’ll be very confident, but it’s just for us to go there, put this series behind us, put all the games we’ve played up to ‘now behind us, and just focus on this one to come.

“(We have to) go out there and give it our all because once you lose, you’re home. So, it’s just go out there, give it your all, put it all on the line and try to play (decent cricket).

“I think once we play a decent game of cricket, a good game of cricket, like probably (85 to 90 percent) of our ability, I think we should be victorious.”

The West Indies played the group stage unbeaten with wins over Papua New Guinea, Uganda, New Zealand and Afghanistan, but fell short when they failed to defend 180 against the England, resulting in an eight-wicket defeat.

Chase said that while there would be no change in approach from the former two-time champions, the emphasis would be on controlling power plays with bat and ball, unlike what has been the case. produced against England.

“I think the game plan will stay the same,” Chase said. “I just think a lot of the time when we control the powerplay, whether it’s batting or bowling, that’s when we get the upper hand.

“In the last game, when we lost to England, we struggled after the power play… but I think that’s the main goal, because we know in the end we have the power in the end.

“So it’s just for us to control that powerplay with the batting and our bowling and then for us batting to keep the momentum going until that seven to 15 period in which we have fell horribly against England.”