SA will shine through in Champions Trophy, says Walter after 3-0 loss to Pakistan

Johannesburg, Dec 23 (IANS) Despite suffering a 3-0 ODI series defeat to Pakistan, South Africa head coach Rob Walter said he is confident of the team shining in major tournaments like next year’s Champions Trophy, citing his team’s track record in last two World Cups.

Pakistan winning the final ODI by 36 runs via DLS method at Johannesburg confirmed South Africa being clean-swept in a home series for the first time. "I know they'll shine through when it comes to these world events, these marquee events. The guys tend to step up. They tend to bring their best cricket. We've seen that for two World Cups in a row," Walter was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

In the run-up to the Champions Trophy, South Africa are scheduled to play a tri-series in Pakistan. But they might be without some of their first-choice players for the tri-series as it clashes with the ending stages of SA20, which Walter believes would pose a challenge.

"The reality is the lead up into the Champions Trophy won't be anything, like the lead up to the World Cup. That's the reality of the way the schedule is stacked up. But at the end of the day, I've just got to trust in the quality of the players."

"Obviously, the switching in codes will potentially pose a little bit of a challenge to us. But again, it's not like the guys have not played 50-odd cricket. So I trust that when the time comes, we'll be there."

In their ODI series defeat to Pakistan, barring Heinrich Klaasen’s three fifties, none of the other batters stepped up in the line-up, which has left Walter concerned.

"As a batting unit, we've spoken about someone taking pride in getting in and getting a big hundred. And to be fair, we just haven't been able to convert anything into really substantial knocks or partnerships in this series. It's not like we're unaware. Some of it is down to batting error and others down to bowling quality and we also have to acknowledge that," he concluded.