Graeme Smith says South Africa are determined to shake off their tag as 'chokers' and win the Champions Trophy.
Proteas skipper keen to shake off chokers tag in Champions Trophy
South Africa skipper Graeme Smith says his side are determined to shake off their tag as 'chokers' during the upcoming Champions Trophy.
The Proteas host the competition and will go into the tournament as favourites after capturing the title as the world's number one team in the ICC one-day rankings from Australia.
South Africa have been amongst the best one-day teams for some time but they have not claimed a trophy since winning the inaugural Champions Trophy in Bangladesh 11 years ago.
Smith as himself been at the helm when leading a well-fancied team to a disappointing exit in Champions Trophy and World Cup cricket.
This time there will be even more pressure on as hosts and the world's number one team, but Smith insists his side can now handle the pressure.
Chokers
"Every time we lose an important game the word 'chokers' is thrown around. During the last couple of years we have been on an upward curve and the team will improve and grow stronger," said Smith.
"Every sportsman knows that staying at the top is a lot harder than getting there. Instead of aiming for Australia, as they have for the past decade and a half, the rest of the world will be looking to take us down."
Along with Smith, team-mate AB de Villiers is also keen to show the world that South Africa can go all the way in the major competitions.
De Villiers says that South Africa will be spurred on by the desire to prove they deserve to be ranked as the world's best one-day team.
"It is true we have come short a few times, but there are many players eager to improve," said de Villiers. "We believe we are the best team in the world and now have the ideal opportunity to prove it.
"Our preparations have been the hardest since I began training with this squad. We run up to four times every day, attend net sessions, sweat in the gym and work on fitness in the pool."
South Africa have not played an ODI for five months while the other seven teams have been active, but de Villiers does not think rustiness will be a problem.
"Although we have not played much cricket recently, training games helped, and I believe we are professional enough to gear ourselves mentally for this tournament."
