Champions Trophy: South Africa coach Rob Walter cautious of wounded England

NEW DELHI: South Africa's coach Rob Walter has expressed caution about facing England in their upcoming Champions Trophy match in Karachi on Saturday, despite England's recent poor performance.
The match holds significant importance for South Africa, as a victory would secure their spot in the semi-finals, while a loss would leave their fate dependent on other match outcomes and net run-rate calculations.
England has already been eliminated from the tournament.
South Africa began their campaign with a decisive victory against Afghanistan, followed by a rain-abandoned match against Australia.
England's captain Jos Buttler faces mounting pressure regarding his leadership of the white-ball team.
"League cricket around the world, they do well, which should suggest that they're adaptable," Walter told reporters.
"If you look at the names on the sheet, I think there's some quality players there, there's no doubt about that.
"Cricket can be fickle and sometimes that results in you losing.
"To ask if I'm surprised (by England's performance), as I said I think there's good cricketers that could turn out tomorrow and deliver an international standard performance," he added.
Buttler's captaincy has struggled to maintain England's success since their T20 World Cup victory in 2022.
England's recent performance include winning only three out of nine matches in the 2023 ODI World Cup, a semi-final exit in the T20 World Cup, and a 3-0 ODI series loss in India before the Champions Trophy.
"What I've learnt in times, you can never judge what's happening with a team unless you're actually walking in the shoes of the people that are on the ground with the team."
"I think there's good people there who have done good things in cricket, working with good players, and I would suggest it's only a matter of time before they find success."
Heinrich Klaasen, South Africa's wicketkeeper-batsman, is expected to return to the team after recovering from an elbow injury that kept him out of the opening match.
Klaasen, batting at number four, has been crucial to South Africa's white-ball cricket success.
"He's a super player, isn't he?," said Walter.
"And I think that you probably notice his strength also based on who the guys are around him that allow him to play that way.
"Obviously he's got a skill-set at the moment that is right up there with the world's best, I think we all agree with that.
"And it's great to have him in your team because you know how destructive he can be."