We believed the guy next to us would go to war with us: de Villiers

South Africa skipper AB de Villiers praised his team's commitment not to show any weakness during the commanding victory over Sri Lanka in the ICC Cricket World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday. "I think everyone committed to that really well, and just the belief and to know that the guy next to you will go to war with you," he said.

He also spoke lucidly about two key performers in the game. The first was paceman Morne Morkel for keeping the pressure on the Sri Lankans with a superb spell after Kyle Abbott and Dale Steyn had removed the openers inside five overs. And the other was left-handed opener Quinton de Kock, who found his touch after struggling through the league phase.

The reference to war and belief in one another made the Mike Horn influence apparent to everyone, even if the renowned explorer has decidedly wanted to remain under the radar. The manner in which South Africa shook off the tag, nay the Albatross hanging around their neck, was quite spectacular.

"I just think we committed to the fact that we're not going to show any weakness. In knockout games -- in any game, actually things don't always go your way. You can't dominate cricket matches for 100 overs. It never happens. To take a couple of shots on the chin and the way you take it is really important, not to show any weakness to the opposition," de Villiers said.

"I think everyone committed to that really well, and just the belief, the belief and to know that the guy next to you will go to war with you. I think we felt that walking onto the field today, and when we sang the Anthem we felt really proud, could feel the way the boys shook each other's hands that we were ready to play some really good cricket," he said.

"I think little things play a big role in you getting ready for big games like this, just really believing in each other."

He was candid when asked about Morkel. "I think the fact that he was part of the Kolkata [Knight Riders] team winning that IPL trophy not long ago played a big part in his personal career, I really do. You could just see a lot of belief in his eyes. He talks with confidence, a lot of confidence, and he's taken up a lot of responsibility in the bowling unit.

"It's not only Dale as the leader, it's him, as well. He's definitely one of our leaders and our captains in the bowling unit. He's bolstered up his performance, but it's not just about that. He walks the talk. He's very confident, and I don't think you've always seen that in his career," de Villiers said of the paceman who does not have a great record against Tillekeratne Dilshan and would have been relieved to see the Sri Lanka opener dismissed by Steyn.

"The fact that he's lifted a trophy in the IPL maybe played a big part in him really believing that he actually can play a big role in teams winning Cups. He's playing a huge role in the bowling team believing that they can run through sides," de Villiers said after his side ran through Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

The South Africa captain a lot of credit was due to the selectors, to the coach and others who kept backing Quinton de Kock, despite his making only 53 runs in the six previous games. "We all go through patches like he did in this tournament. We've all been in dark spaces, and I think he has been in this tournament." de Villiers said.

"I think they must have been tempted a few times to let him go and maybe for me to take the gloves but it was a great call from them to stick with him. He had a fantastic game, took a couple of crucial catches. You know what can happen when you let catches go down. It can turn a game upside down, and he hung onto them today," de Villiers said.

"The way he batted with confidence was amazing. At that age to go through a patch like he has been going through, to come out there in a quarterfinals of the World Cup with confidence shows what kind of player he is and what he can achieve in his career, and I'm looking forward to the next few games to see him up the order again," the captain said.

De Villiers admitted he was pleased that his team didn't have to work too hard for this victory. "It was a shortened game. a lot of emotional energy was used but not a lot of physical energy. Our semifinal will only be on the 24th. There's plenty of time for recovery. It's only the 18th now. Look, we had a couple of games during the tournament where it was back to back, and that was quite odd, but there's more than enough time now to recover from whatever stress we took into that," he said.

"I honestly didn't feel it was that strenuous what we went through today, but just very happy that we overcame today's hurdle. It was a tough one; never easy to play Sri Lanka, especially in World Cup games. They're a tough team to beat, so I'm very chuffed with what we've achieved, and I'd like us to enjoy this victory tonight and move on tomorrow," de Villiers said.

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