Victory over UAE boosts South Africa's confidence ahead of last eight
Proteas scrape through to quarter-finals after an inconsistent campaign where they were vulnerable to Pakistan and India
South Africa's 146-run victory over UAE in their final World Cup pool B clash yesterday was exactly what the team needed heading into the quarter-finals, captain AB de Villiers said.
De Villiers' side have experienced an inconsistent campaign and were still to secure qualification for the last eight before the match at Wellington Regional Stadium.
South Africa had displayed their best form when twice registering scores of more than 400 runs, but also appeared vulnerable in losses to India and Pakistan, raising doubts over the side's ability to shake off their "World Cup chokers" tag.
"I won't say 'yes that win has given us the confidence to believe that we are better than ever', but those games need to be respected and the boys rocked up with a great attitude," said man of the match De Villiers, who scored 99 runs in a 341 for six total.
"We wanted to win. We wanted to play a good game of cricket. Which we did," he added after UAE were dismissed for 195 with Fahad Alhashmi unable to bat following an injury to his leg while bowling.
