The Proteas kept their semi-final hopes alive with successive victories against Pakistan and India after opening their campaign with a disappointing defeat to Australia.
With Australia virtually guaranteed a place in the last four, South Africa know that victories against the Netherlands and Bangladesh in their final two matches will likely be enough to secure the second semi-final spot from the group.
Australia lead Group A on eight points from four matches, followed by India, South Africa and Bangladesh all on four and separated by net run rate.
The Proteas play the Netherlands in Bristol on Thursday night before finishing their group fixtures against semi-final rivals Bangladesh at Lord’s on Sunday.
Crucially, India face Australia in their final group encounter at Lord’s straight after the SA-Bangladesh clash.
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Despite the crucial nature of the remaining fixtures, Mashimbyi insists the focus remains firmly on South Africa’s own standards.
“I think we just want to focus on how we want to play cricket, which is obviously this aggressive brand of cricket,” he said.
“We haven’t been doing that consistently in the past few games and we’re still working towards a complete performance from a batting point of view.
“Hopefully, in the next two games, we’ll get the confidence needed to make sure that, if we go through, we’re where we need to be as a batting unit.”
The Proteas chased down a challenging target against India thanks largely to a match-winning partnership between Marizanne Kapp and Tazmin Brits.
Mashimbyi admitted he was surprisingly calm during the pursuit. “I was pretty confident, to be honest with you, because I always believed we just needed a partnership,” he said.
“Kappie and Brittsy put together a really good partnership to make sure we crossed the line. The game was never too far away from us. We just needed one big over and then we were back in contention. I was actually more nervous against Pakistan.”
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Mashimbyi warned against complacency against the Dutch, who remain dangerous despite being underdogs.
“The only surprise I’d be wary of is the complacency we bring as a team,” he said.
“Every game is important for us now. We can’t drop our energy or our intensity. We need to make sure we bring the right intensity to put ourselves in a position to dominate the game.”
While the qualification permutations remain complicated, the Proteas coach says his team is not getting distracted by net run rates or points tables.
“Our prime focus is to make sure that we get a win,” he said. “The other stuff will look after itself as time goes on.”
Photo: George Wood/Getty Images
