South Africa may have crashed out of the T20 World Cup after their semifinal loss to Australia, but captain Dane van Niekerk insists they would prefer this result any day over being handed a 'free pass' into the final due to rain, Cricbuzz reports.
"I am not going to sit and lie and say, 'You don't think about it,'" van Niekerk said about the looming rain which could've made things a lot easier for them. "I have to give credit to the groundstaff; they did absolutely everything to keep us on the park. And we are here to play cricket. I'd rather lose than get a free pass into the World Cup final."
Van Niekerk refused the suggestion that they could've tweaked their batting order to let the big-hitting Chloe Tryon some more time in the middle. There were only 10 balls left in the innings when Tryon came in at No.6, but van Niekerk believes that that the preceding fightback from Sune Luus and Laura Wolvaardt was what kept the team in the hunt to begin with.
"No. I feel like Sune [Luus] and Wolfie did really well," she said. "They changed the momentum in the middle and then at the back end of the innings. I was still quite confident when Chloe went out there even with the last over; it's three hits away, especially for somebody with her power.
"She miscued a full toss; nine out of ten times she would hit that probably on top of the roof. That's the nature of the game. It's never easy to come in and just swing away, no matter how strong you are. Chloe came in at the right time. I think the second half of the last over was bowled in brilliantly. That stopped the momentum a bit."
The South Africa captain also pointed to Australia's experience of knockout contests as a point of difference between the two teams.
"They are experienced in knockout games," van Niekerk said. "Let's be honest, we've only been in three [semi-finals]; they've played countless. I have to give them credit, their plans were spot on. The way they started their tournament [losing to India], to where they are now - it tells you about the quality of their team.
"You can never write off the No. 1 team in the world, and they showed tonight why they are, and why they came back. At one stage, it was our game to win, and theirs to lose. [They] turned the tables again. It comes with experience and confidence. I believed they are the deserved No. 1 team at the moment."
