Mark Boucher rues misreading pitch against Australia, insists South Africa are heading on right path

South Africa won as many as four out of the five games they played in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup but were still knocked out of the race to the semi-finals by England and Australia. 

Their coach Mark Boucher highlighted more positives out of the tournament than ruing losing out the opportunity to play the semi-finals. He said that the Proteas have been improving with each game and the world cup stage showcased their development as a side.

The Proteas lost just one game and that one came against Australia, who became the second side after England to go through, and Boucher said that their batting unit overestimated the pitch in Abu Dhabi that day and lost the plot in pursuit of extra 20 runs. Boucher said that they were not sure of what should have been a good total and instead of going for 160 runs, they should have settled themselves with just 140 runs on the board.

Boucher was more optimistic and happy about the Proteas becoming a better side in pressure situations which have not been the forte of South African sides of the past. He said that the side is heading in the right direction and should end the drought for a major trophy very soon.

"The first game [against Australia] was tight," Boucher said. "We just didn't bat well enough. It was tough, we lost the toss, we batted first and we weren't 100% sure what a good total was because that was the first game. We looked at getting 160 but we probably needed 130 or 140 to be competitive so we could have maybe done better there."

"Every game we played was under pressure. That's one thing we haven't done well in the past - played big games, pressurised games," he said. "It's a young side, we are still developing. We are heading in the right direction. We need a bit of luck and a bit of good fortune to go our way. Hopefully we can put something in the trophy cabinet soon."

South Africa cricket has attracted a lot of headlines for all the wrong reasons in the recent past but Boucher insisted that the Proteas are playing together as a unit and their performances will find space in conversation sooner as they head back home to play a busy summer.

"This team is in a very good space," he added. "They are very strong and together and hopefully that is reflected in our performances and hopefully people can come and see that for themselves when we are back home."