Proteas have had 'hard conversations' ahead of World Cup clash against England

Bavuma and his charges suffered a shock loss to the Netherlands in their previous clash after starting the global tournament in fine form with victories over Sri Lanka and Australia.

The Proteas skipper said it was important they remember all the good stuff they did before the defeat against the Dutch and get themselves in the right mental state to take on the current champions.

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Bavuma told reporters: "We've had hard conversations as a team, obviously looking at our performances and where things went bad for us from a batting, bowling, even from a fielding point of view. We've put that behind us.

"We've obviously got the challenge of England starting and we are, I guess preparing to get ourselves in the right mental state, physically as well, to play our best cricket there.

"We have obviously spoken about the game from a skills department point of view, what exactly that we need to do to get better."

The Proteas came into the tournament on the back of three consecutive wins against the Aussies in a series at home before dominating their opening two matches in India.

Bavuma added: "I think we also acknowledge the fact that in the last couple of months, we've played a lot of good cricket. So, I think it's not to overlook that and allow one 'blip', I would say, in our game to override everything that we've done and still keep the confidence in everything that we are doing.

"I think it's easy to second-guess yourselves, second-guess your processes and your game, so it's not to forget all the good work that we've done."

England suffered their own shock loss when they went down to Afghanistan in their last game and Bavuma is expecting a good contest at the Wankede Stadium that usually delivers high totals.

The clash will also be the first game played at the venue at this year's global tournament.

"Both teams are looking to prove themselves," Bavuma said. "Both teams will want to eradicate and deal with whatever issues they had. It could be one hell of a game of cricket if two teams of this calibre play close to their best.

"There's individuals in both camps who want to put their hand up for their team. I think it will be a tightly contested game.

"It can be a batter's paradise here, you get value for your shots and the ball tends to travel further. If it is your day, you can fill your boots."

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