Here is the full transcript of South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton’s press conference after their February 11 match against Afghanistan.
(Reporter:)
The best way to start is thoughts please.
(Ryan Rickelton:)
Cricket sucks. I think that’s the number one idea. Yeah, I mean, Yeah, it was a great game. Actually, I don’t even have many words to describe it. We were really excited to finally get over the line.
(Reporter:)
Are you talking to KG yet?
(Ryan Rickelton:)
No, KG, we’ll give him some time, but we’ll embrace him. We’ll probably give him a few drinks later. And yes, he is one of us in everything, so he will always be there.
(Reporter:)
You thought, I mean, two super overs, after that second super over, you thought, well, now they need 24 or four balls, and then they almost got there?
(Ryan Rickelton:)
Obviously I think the anxiety. I said to Dave who was next to me, I said, come on, two points, we’re going to win this game. We get to three sixes in a row. Obviously you said cats among pigeons there, so we just stood there and said sure no, it can’t be, it can’t be real – But I think we’re just over the moon that we managed to cross the line.
(Reporter:)
Yeah, first of all thank you very much because one of the best matches we’ve seen. Second, why was Maharaj selected for the final? Something was discussed and not to go with it-
(Ryan Rickelton:)
Why Keshav? Why was Keshav chosen? I wasn’t sure actually. I thought KG or Marco would go, but it came from Shukri that he thinks Kesh should go. And yes, credit to him where credit is due. I guess it worked. It came down to the last wire. We tried to change it, I think the balls were slow and wide and we tried to get them to hit over extra cover for a six for a big boundary. That would be thinking, which I think is probably the most difficult task. So I guess that was the plan. Yeah, like I said, I’m glad it worked out.
(Reporter:)
You can tell us what happens at these times before the game ends and then you decide who to bet. They say guys – do I want to go or Shukri decides?
(Ryan Rickelton:)
I think it’s generally a discussion between the corpses, Dave and Aiden. Quinny and I and Aiden were kind of – I guess we had different options. But I mean, that’s why you have guys like Miller and Stubbs, guys who can finish games, who can hit those low full deliveries for six, and that last shot by Stubb, who hit that low full delivery for six to get us to the second over, shows exactly why he’s worth the money. It’s incredibly difficult, but our big hitters Brevis, Stubbs, Miller were always discussed, there were always three.
(Reporter:)
If you had to describe the kinds of feelings that you know you’re watching there, there’s nothing you can really do, I suppose you know how you would describe that whole last bit?
(Ryan Rickelton:)
Just anxiety I mean we’re standing there we’re all sitting up there crossing our fingers like come on come on guys just more hope than anything but yeah like I said it was an absolute whirlwind of a game. Yeah, we’ve all been there. We rode with emotion, of course, just like everyone else. And it was pretty hard, I’d say. But yeah, I’m glad we crossed the line.
(Reporter:)
Ryan, it must seem like last week that you were there with Quinton sharing the booth of the century. Do you even remember it?
(Ryan Rickelton:)
I remember it quite well. Quinny has a beautiful shot, he is such an ace for us. Controls again really good and it helped me in that period as well. I think when we have a partnership, we complement each other quite well. So yeah, I hope I’m looking forward to spending more time with him.
(Reporter:)
And then what does that do to the team when they go through such a tough fight pretty early in the tournament. It seems like a good thing to me.
(Ryan Rickelton:)
That’s right. This gives us a real wake-up call. You know, the things you can’t take for granted. Afghanistan is a team that is a serious cricket team. No one ever took them for granted. But it’s just the little things, when you have opportunities to end the game or when you have opportunities with your foot on your neck, you can’t let any team back in. So it’s a bit of a wake-up call, I like to say, just trying to have that edge, to have that edge, and when you get ahead, stay ahead. Just make sure you take care of the really small things. Like I said, it can come back to bite you. So it will be a nice wake up call for all of us and a lot of things to improve on.
(Reporter:)
Just on Quinny, he’s so sharp and today’s dash was one example. What you’ve seen from him in terms of the things he’s been working on and the commitment in general, I guess he’s leading the energy there a little bit.
(Ryan Rickelton:)
Yeah, he just has that aura, I guess you know about him, that he’s pulling guys left right and center. He has a presence that he doesn’t really know makes a lot of noise behind the stumps, but he has a strong presence. We all know where our eyes go between him and Aiden. But it’s just the sharpness of the game, what he sees from behind the stumps, the words he gives in the team chats when there are drinks or wickets or anything like that. He actually runs a lot more than you think. Yeah, so he’s a total asset. He obviously played a hell of a lot of cricket. He’s seen a lot of things too. So, you know, they’ll definitely consider what needs to be said tonight and tomorrow and reflect on the game. But it definitely has that sharpness, that presence. And I think we can all learn a lot from him just in terms of how attuned he is to the game.
(Reporter:)
Do you think South Africa’s pieces in the field, those misses, those few catches made a bit of a difference in the end?
(Ryan Rickelton:)
Yes, I suppose fielding always makes a huge difference. I think we have a really good unit in the field. We have guys who catch well, we have guys who move well. I mean that catch George took to dismiss Gurbaz was a game changing moment. And I think the sharpness that we have between the ground field and also in the air, our catch percentages are pretty good. And it’s something we always have to add to because like you said, those little moments, Quinny throwing to the other end to run it out again, saving a run in the grandest scheme of things today — that’s a huge, massive win for us. So something that we’re constantly adding to and something that we can always try to hold on to, especially, and make sure we get it right in those clutch moments.