If you think that I’m going to get my hopes up about the Proteas winning the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019 after decades of agonizing disappointment, then you are absolutely correct. IT’S COMING HOME BOYS! With arguably the two best sides descending on the famous Oval to open the 2019 Cricket World Cup, I thought I’d give my opinion and analysis on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Proteas heading into the tournament.
STRENGTHS:
Form in One Day International Cricket
The Proteas come into the tournament off the back of some relatively impressive results. Looking at their last 21 ODI cricket matches, the Proteas have only tasted defeat on 5 occasions having won the other 16 contests. The quality of the opposition has been sufficient in my opinion with wins down under against the mighty Aussies, as well as an away series win against Sri Lanka. The Zimbos struggled to provide much of a threat thereafter but the Proteas came out on top against a strong Pakistan side as well as a Sri Lankan outfit that had gained considerable momentum from their historic test series whitewash in South Africa.
The Return of Hashim Amla
Going back a week, many believed that South African legend Hashim Amla didn’t deserve a place in the Proteas XI and would serve as second fiddle to young but highly talented Aiden Markram, others went as far saying that he didn’t deserve a seat on that plane to London in the first place! With 2 warm-up games having past and 2 mighty impressive performances by Hashim Amla, I think he has all but cemented his place at the top of the order and has given the Proteas top 6 a much-needed look of resilience, experience, and class. Although Amla tends to bat at close to a run a ball, he is likely to play the ‘anchor’ role in the Proteas set up with De Kock, Markram, and Miller more likely to ‘take on’ the opposition bowlers. It must be said that Hashim Amla’s contribution to the side goes far beyond his batting ability, it’s the mountain of cricket knowledge or ‘awareness’ that he brings to the table as well as his ability to maintain a level head during ‘crunch times’ that makes his presence ever more welcomed.
World Cup Experience
Make of it what you will but I believe having a considerable number of players with World Cup experience can only be a positive. Depending on the 11 that Ottis Gibson opts for, we could see 7 of the 11 having played in 2011 where South Africa had a very decent World Cup, losing in the last over of the semi-final to a gutsy Black caps side. Relative to the other major contenders England, India, and Australia, the Proteas are well ahead in this regard and it is something that cannot overlooked.
World Class Bowling Quartet
In my admittedly biased opinion, South Africa have one of, if not the most impressive bowling attack at the tournament with the likes of Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Imran Tahir filling the specialist bowlers’ position. What I like about this 4-prong attack is that they are all wicket takers. The shorter format of the game has undoubtedly become a favorable format for batsmen while bowlers simply try to avoid being bludgeoned for more than 350 runs. Figures of 0-60 off 10 have become perfectly acceptable and captains tend to start the game fairly defensively in the sense that the primary objective is ‘damage control’. As previously said, I think the 4 specialist bowlers are constantly looking to ‘take it’ to batsmen and assert their dominance on the game. The 3 seamers all have the ability to bowl at 140 clicks or more, with Rabada having breached the 150 barrier on a couple of occasions during the IPL. Tahir on the other hand is in the form of his life after an outstanding run against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the IPL where he finished as the 2nd highest wicket taker behind Kagiso Rabada.
Wickets in the middle period of the innings have proved to be crucial to success in the shorter format of the game and with Imran Tahir operating between that 20-40 over period, I have the utmost confidence that he will be devastating to the opposition. Having said that, if the wicket is a touch slow and not necessarily conducive to swing and seam bowling, the spin options of Duminy and Markram as well as Phehlukwayo ability to take pace off the ball, will play a vital role too.
WEAKNESSES
Team Selection Uncertainty
Looking at the ‘big 6’, England, India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan, I believe South Africa are the most unsure of what their best 11 actually looks like. Dating back about 1 year, the Proteas have utilized 27 different players in ODI cricket, trying all manners of opening, middle order, and bowling combinations. What would have been ideal, in my opinion, is if starting from August of last year in Sri Lanka, we opted for a squad of 15 that would hopefully play the next 5 ODI series leading into the world cup and would in fact become the 15 that travelled to London. Players need time to gel into a particular position or to get familiar with the role that they play for their country. An example I like to use here was Jake Whites starting 15 that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup final. White took over at the beginning of 2004 and, I stand to be corrected, but I believe that in his first ever test, he picked 11 of the players that won the World Cup almost 4 years later. Granted that is rugby and a different set of circumstances but I believe the same principle applies.
No consistent ‘finisher’
Another major concern of mine that I’ve been quite vocal about in the past is the lack of depth in our batting line up, not only in terms of how many of the 11 can score runs, but also due to the lack of a match winner at the back end of the innings. Match winners from the past in my opinion have been Mark Boucher, Albie Morkel, and perhaps Justin Kemp. They inspired a great deal of confidence in those ‘50 runs of 30 ball run chases’ and have safely guided South Africa to many a victory that could have gone either way. Most of you might argue that David Miller is that guy, I disagree. Yes, he is devastating and can hit the ball a country mile, but he lacks the consistency of Boucher and co, and tends to thrive off strong positions as opposed to helping the Proteas out of a hole and I would go as far as describing Miller as a bit of a flat track bully. It could be argued that this is the reason that Miller has never got the call up to the 5-day format of the game given his inability to score runs on a wicket that offers a bit more to the bowlers.
This is probably why i’ve begun to lead more towards Markram and van der Dussen in that Middle order which would allow Duminy to slip into that number 6 role and in a sense look to play a similar role to Boucher at the back end of an innings.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Proteas look a solid outfit and I believe that they are serious title contenders if they can strike the right balance in their playing 11. They have the experience and are not short on talent by any stretch of the imagination. The lack of game time against the likes of Australia, England and India in recent times does concern me but at the end of the day, the Proteas are a quality bunch and should be able to adapt to any match situation. I think the Proteas will defy the odds against England in spite of Dale Steyn’s absence. The key to winning the World Cup might lie in their ability to play spin with India likely to offer at least 20 overs of a spin on any given day, while Australia and England too have not been shy to hand the ball to their slower bowlers.
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