South Africa batsman David Miller is hopeful his side can secure World Cup glory as they bid to make it to their first ever final. The Proteas have fallen at the semi-final stage on three occasions since being allowed to enter the tournament back in 1992, with their most recent exit in the last four coming back in 2007.
They did however win their first ever match in the knockout stages of the tournament when they defeated Sri Lanka in the previous round of this year’s competition and will be looking to use the nine-wicket victory as a momentum builder ahead of their semi-final match.
Their opponents in the final four are New Zealand, who have an even worse record at the semi-final stage of the competition having failed to reach the showpiece event on all six occasions when they have made it to the final four.
The two sides will go head-to-head at Eden Park on Tuesday and Miller is excited by the possibility of being crowned world champions, although he is wary of how hard that achievement will be.
He said: “It’s something that’s the unknown. It’s a very exciting time. In eight days we could be world champions but it’s just one step at a time, take things slowly as they come.â€
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a successful debut World Cup to date, scoring a career high 138 against Zimbabwe as well as two further knocks of over 40 in the tournament, although he was out for a duck on his only previous outing at Eden Park.
Despite his poor record at the Auckland-based ground, Miller is still confident he can cash in on what is a small boundary in New Zealand.
He revealed: “Hopefully, I can mishit a few straight sixes. That’s just the way the field is and it’s cool to be playing on it.â€
They did however win their first ever match in the knockout stages of the tournament when they defeated Sri Lanka in the previous round of this year’s competition and will be looking to use the nine-wicket victory as a momentum builder ahead of their semi-final match.
Their opponents in the final four are New Zealand, who have an even worse record at the semi-final stage of the competition having failed to reach the showpiece event on all six occasions when they have made it to the final four.
The two sides will go head-to-head at Eden Park on Tuesday and Miller is excited by the possibility of being crowned world champions, although he is wary of how hard that achievement will be.
He said: “It’s something that’s the unknown. It’s a very exciting time. In eight days we could be world champions but it’s just one step at a time, take things slowly as they come.â€
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a successful debut World Cup to date, scoring a career high 138 against Zimbabwe as well as two further knocks of over 40 in the tournament, although he was out for a duck on his only previous outing at Eden Park.
Despite his poor record at the Auckland-based ground, Miller is still confident he can cash in on what is a small boundary in New Zealand.
He revealed: “Hopefully, I can mishit a few straight sixes. That’s just the way the field is and it’s cool to be playing on it.â€
