{"id":21199,"date":"2013-07-17T23:55:48","date_gmt":"2013-07-17T21:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/de-villiers-believes-that-proteas-can-make-history\/"},"modified":"2013-07-17T23:55:48","modified_gmt":"2013-07-17T21:55:48","slug":"de-villiers-believes-that-proteas-can-make-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/de-villiers-believes-that-proteas-can-make-history\/","title":{"rendered":"De Villiers believes that Proteas can make \u2018history\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Proteas<\/a>\u00a0are slowly adjusting to the fact that they are without the likes of\u00a0Graeme Smith<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jacques Kallis<\/a>\u00a0in their one-day side.<\/p>\n

\"Proteas<\/a><\/p>\n

Proteas captain AB De Villiers says they are looking at turning around South Africa\u2019s poor record in ODIs on Sri Lankan soil. Photo: Duif du Toit \/ Gallo Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a train smash, not having them here. We can\u2019t depend on having them around forever, and it\u2019s important for us to learn to play without them,\u201d South Africa one-day captain AB de Villiers<\/a> accepted during a welcoming function for the teams in Colombo.<\/p>\n

Aside from the key batsmen, the Proteas are also without the services of premier fast bowler, Dale Steyn<\/a>, who is being rested.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe played without them (Kallis and Smith) at the Champions Trophy<\/a>, and I was quite happy with our performance. We came unstuck in the semis, obviously, but I thought we played quite well,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

De Villiers\u2019s counterpart, Angelo Mathews, said Sri Lanka<\/a> were looking forward to locking horns with South Africa, and they had been encouraged by their recent form, including a last-gasp loss to India in a tri-nations series in the West Indies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have played some good cricket lately, but it\u2019s obviously disappointing that we have fallen a bit short in both the Champions Trophy as well as the final against India in the West Indies. Hopefully we can have a successful series against South Africa, but they are never an easy side to beat,\u201d Mathews said.<\/p>\n

De Villiers said he and his team were also looking at turning South Africa\u2019s record on Sri Lankan soil around after a dismal run, especially in limited-overs cricket. South Africa are yet to win a series on the island, and they have just one victory in their last 10 completed limited-overs clashes here.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the best, but a lot of us haven\u2019t played here for the Proteas before. I\u2019ve never played a one-day game here against Sri Lanka, so it is a great challenge that we are looking forward to addressing as a team.\u201d \u2013 IOL Sport<\/a><\/p>\n

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