Faf du Plessis says South Africa are "hurting" and fans have "the right to be angry"

SAM MORSHEAD AT EDGBASTON: The Proteas are not mathematically out of the competition but it will take a series of unlikely results for Du Plessis's team to progress, and the captain reflected the mood inside the camp

Scorecard| Ratings | Talking Points | Sam Morshead

Faf du Plessis could not fault the “hunger”, “determination” or “fight” of his South Africa players as they lost a dramatic, low-scoring clash with New Zealand to edge closer to elimination from the World Cup.

Defending a modest total of 241 for 6 on a difficult surface at Edgbaston, South Africa took the Blackcaps to the final over before Kane Williamson hauled Andile Phehlukwayo for a six over wide midwicket and then squirted the next ball through gully for four to cap a four-wicket victory.

The Proteas are not mathematically out of the competition but it will take a series of unlikely results for Du Plessis’s side to progress, and afterwards the captain reflected the mood both inside the camp and around South African cricket as a whole.

“You can feel the dressing room. The guys are hurting. I’m feeling five years older and my body is really sore after that. We left everything out there and that’s all I can ask for as a captain,” he said.

“Unfortunately we’ve just not been as good as the opposition we’ve played against. That’s a skill thing, that’s not a hunger thing, that’s not a determination thing, that’s not a fight thing.

^{Faf du Plessis congratulates Kane Williamson}

“New Zealand is an excellent tournament team. Their win ratio is up there with the best -the Indias and the Australias. They’ve always used the underdog tag but they’re certainly not underdogs at the moment.

“When you play against a team like that you’re hoping there’s not too much swing but they were excellent with the swinging ball today.”

South Africa have only won one game at this World Cup - against Afghanistan - and have been beaten by Bangladesh, England and India, in addition to the Blackcaps.

Du Plessis highlighted their poor performances with the bat as a major reason for their demise, saying some of the senior players needed to stand up to be counted, including himself.

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“We’re just not producing scores or innings that can win you games,” he said.

“The bowlers have been fighting this whole competition, bar the Bangladesh game when we were a little off.

“When I speak about putting your hand up,I don’t point the finger away, I need to be the leading runscorer in our unit with Quinny (Quinton de Kock).”

Du Plessis suggested that as many as “six or seven” members of the current South Africa squad could feasibly be on their way out at the end of a miserable tournament.

Imran Tahir, JP Duminy and Hashim Amla are certainly approaching the end of their respective careers, while Du Plessis said that a focus on the youthful core of the side - Rassie van der Dussen, Andile Phehlukwayo and Aiden Markram in particular - would be a logical route for Cricket South Africa to go down.

^{Du Plessis and South Africa are facing World Cup elimination}

“They might want a complete change,” he said. “Those are things you sit down and talk about. We’ve got some young players, so there’s a future there. I’ve really backed the young guys this tournament, I think they’ve got a great future in front of them.

“Rassie has shown he’s the real deal; I think he’s got leadership qualities as well.

“You’ll probably lose six or seven players after this tournament. I don’t think you need to do more than that.”

Asked to give a message to supporters back home, a jaded Du Plessis said: “The guys are fighting, that’s all I can say.

“I know South African people are passionate and they’re probably angry at the moment, and rightly so. As a team, we take it on the chin.

“I said when we got to this tournament that if you put everything out there and a better team beats you then life will go on. I don’t hide away from the fact I’m disappointed.

“Cricket means a lot to me and the performance of this team means a lot to me, but I certainly can’t start running in the other direction if results don’t go my way. I’ll keep pushing forward and facing north.”

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