‘Need to keep our heads steady and play freely’

South Africa’s hopes of making the semi-finals would effectively be over if it loses at Edgbaston after a wretched start to the tournament.

Defeats to England, Bangladesh and India have left South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman De Kock billing the New Zealand match as a “quarter-final”.

A nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan on Saturday was its first win in this World Cup in England and Wales.

The Proteas cannot afford any more slip-ups in its remaining games against New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia if it is to maintain slender hopes of a semi-final berth.

De Kock admits South Africa’s chances of avoiding an embarrassingly early elimination will be wrecked if it does not cope with the stress of playing in a do-or-die situation.

“Obviously it’s a big game for us but, in saying that, our next three or four games that we have, they are all going to be big games for us for the rest of the tournament,” he said.

“We’re just going to have to go out there, keep our heads steady and play freely.

“Tomorrow is a quarter-final, I guess you could say it, but if we do win it, then it’s another big game again.

“We have to win all the games, not just focus on tomorrow. But in saying that, we know how good New Zealand are playing at the moment. They are a big team in World Cups. They always seem to step up.”