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Corrie van Zyl calls for change in approach

Corrie van Zyl, the South Africa coach, has called for a change in the team's approach following its exit from the World Twenty20 and said "a few hard calls" could have to be made in order to achieve that

Cricinfo staff
12-May-2010
Corrie van Zyl has said some "hard calls" could be made  •  Getty Images

Corrie van Zyl has said some "hard calls" could be made  •  Getty Images

Corrie van Zyl, the South Africa coach, has called for a change in the team's approach following its exit from the World Twenty20 and said "a few hard calls" could have to be made in order to achieve that. South Africa were beaten by England and Pakistan in the Super Eights stage of the tournament to crash out ahead of the semi-finals.
"We won't win the World Cup in 2011 if we continue like this. We'll have to change our approach," van Zyl told the Sport 24 website. "We cannot keep repeating the same errors and not make changes.
"I don't want to come down on individuals, but the time is right for change. We have to sit down and think about what is important to change and which players are the right ones to fit in with that change. If we need to make a few hard calls, it will be done."
Van Zyl pointed out there had been a failure in each of the three departments of the game, leading to South Africa's elimination. "We again could not cope with the pressure. The question has to be asked why we could not manage it and why it happens repeatedly," van Zyl said. "Is it our approach to batting, is it our general approach, or are we maybe too tentative? Those are the questions you need to ask yourself.
"We never reached the kind of form that allowed us to charge. If we performed well in one area, we performed poorly in another. As a team we did not perform well in all three disciplines (fielding, bowling and batting)."
Andrew Hudson, Cricket South Africa's newly-appointed convenor of selectors, has also called for a comprehensive review of the team's performance. "We need to find out exactly why they were so under par, and what can be done to improve the situation," Hudson was quoted as saying by the Sport 24 website.
"I imagine there will be a lot of sitting around and debating after the tour of the West Indies. We'll need input from everyone involved so that we can formulate a strategy for the future.
"We also need to develop a strategy for the World Cup in the sub-continent next year."