Proteas no longer the chokers: de Villiers

Tired of being tagged chokers, South African wicketkeeper A B de Villiers said the Proteas are set to prove their detractors wrong by handling big match situations calmly at the World Cup starting February 19.

"We've shown recently that we can play in big situations and under pressure," the big-hitting batsman said at the team's open media session here.

"We do not need psychologists and we are focusing on small things. We are not worried about failing under pressure at all," he added.

Talking about their past performances in the World Cup, de Villiers said the pressure on the current lot is a lot less than what it has been in previous years.

"We are not focusing on what happened in the past. We have a different look now. In recent times, we have been the opposite of chokers. ICC tournaments are different, there is pressure in the knockouts but we will be ready for it," de Villiers said.

De Villiers' opinion was echoed by batsman Colin Ingram.

"We are a very structured team and I don't think we should try to change that," Ingram said.

"We've been able to win a few games in tight situations but up to now we have not played a perfect series yet. If we polish what we achieved in those games, we will be able to do that.

"We have more than enough flair, I don't want us to be the unpredictable side of the tournament and I think we are at the level where we can read situations and adapt," he added.

Tipped to keep wickets for the for the first time in a major tournament for South Africa, de Villiers was adjudged the ICC ODI Player of the year 2010.

"It will be physically challenging for me but it's for the best for the team and I have been preparing well," de Villiers said of his role as a wicketkeeper-batsman.

"It's going to be tough for all the wicketkeepers. I've seen local keepers do make mistakes too. We just have to remember that when we let through a bye, it's not the end of the world."