AB de Villiers shoulders blame for South Africa’s early exit in Tri-Nation Series 2016

South Africa were knocked out of the tri-nation series after losing by 100 runs to West Indies in the final group game

South African skipper AB de Villiers has took it upon himself and his teammates for his side’s early exit in the tri-nation series 2016. De Villiers was pretty ordinary in this series, scoring just 121 runs in six innings. South Africa, who were considered by many to win the series, fell short in their last group game. Having been sitting pretty on 12 points from five matches, they lost their final encounter against West Indies by 100 runs, which meant an bonus point for the hosts. It took them to 13 points and an encounter against Australia in the final in front of home crowd. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: West Indies vs South Africa, 9th ODI Match

Speaking about his side’s shocking exit from the series, cricket.com.au quoted de Villiers saying, “A couple of us are out of form, myself included. I had a poor series and would have loved to have played a bigger role and got a few more runs, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.”

“I got in four out of five times and didn’t convert. There’s no reason for me to get out after that because I’m seeing the ball well and four out of five times, I didn’t (convert). Tonight I was dismissed (for 2) by a bowler (Windies quick Shannon Gabriel) who was bowling well, running in and got it to swing a little bit. That happens but the other four times, no excuses really. I just gave my wicket away at the wrong time and it’s not good enough.”

The South African skipper also defended under-fire coach Russell Domingo, with lots of speculation going around regarding his position. “It’ll be pretty bad. Russell has played a pretty big role in all of our careers over the past four years. I’ve felt he’s done a fantastic job and it would be sad to see him under pressure. “It’s definitely not the coaching stuff. The coaching staff, in my mind, are the best in the world with what they do and what they bring to the table.”

“Unfortunately as players we let them down in this series. We had ample opportunity in a few games to really knuckle down. It comes down to the players. The preparation was perfect, all the coaching staff did their jobs. So it is sad to see Russell under pressure. It shouldn’t be that way, it should be a few players that are under pressure.”