SOUTH AFRICAN CHARGE

No team personifies the expression “So close yet so far” better than South Africa. Since their readmission to cricket in 1991 they have made rapid strides in the international arena. However, the World Title has always eluded them despite being the favourites in almost all the World Cups since the 1992 edition. This year too they are one of the favourites to lift the trophy but many questions remain unanswered. Will they be able to get through the knock out matches? Will they shed the tag of “chokers”?

In the previous tournament I remember Graeme Smith telling the press “we have shed the tag of chokers” after a win against England that sealed their semi final berth. What happened after that is history. South Africa were hammered in the semi final by their nemesis Australia. The way they started their innings just showed that they were trying too hard to do something really special on that big day. The story doesn’t end there. They were knocked out of the ICC World T20 Championship in 2007, 2009 and 2010 in games that were to decide their progress in the respective tournaments. I would say that they are yet to shed the tag of “chokers” and if they do then I can assure you every cricket fan including myself would be happy.”

Prior to the announcement of the Proteas World Cup Squad there was a lot of suspense regarding some of the spots. It is interesting to note that only four players in their squad have World Cup experience. I am really surprised when I learnt about this. Just imagine, players like Amla, Steyn, Morne Morkel, and Johan Botha are playing their first World Cup. This just shows the depth in South African cricket. They have the players in their domestic setup to replace the guys who either retire or are dropped. These players have replaced the likes of Gibbs, Kemp, Pollock, Ntini etc. Coming back to 2011, their squad for this tournament is:

1. Graeme Smith (captain)
2. Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (wicket-keeper)
3. Jaques Kallis
4. Jean-Paul Duminy
5. Hashim Amla
6. Colin Ingram
7. Morne Van Wyk
8. Johan Botha
9. Imran Tahir
10. Wayne Parnell
11. Dale Steyn
12. Morne Morkel
13. Lonwabo Tsotsobe
14. Robin Peterson
15. Francois du Plessis

This was pretty much the expected squad for the signature event. Morne Van Wyk was one surprise selection but I think the selectors have taken the right call as he is in form with the bat and provides a second wicket keeping option. He replaced David Miller who wasn’t very consistent in the opportunities he got. Francois du Plessis booked his place hours before the announcement when he scored a valuable fifty in the third ODI against India at Cape Town. The only uncapped player in the squad is Imran Tahir. His rise to the South African team has attracted a lot of attention as he played in Pakistan and only moved to South Africa to be with his wife. One just senses that he has waited a long time for this opportunity.

The playing eleven would be on similar to the one they played with in the series against India. Smith and Amla will open the innings with Kallis to come in at no.3 (Ingram played at this spot in the ODI series). AB de Villiers, Van Wyk, Duminy, and Botha will make up the middle order. The competition for the second spinners spot would be between du Plessis, Peterson and Tahir. I think the team management would consider their all round skills to make this decision. Du Plessis is a batsman who can bowl a bit and field brilliantly, Peterson is a bowler who can bat a bit and Tahir is a pure leg spinner. It is most likely that they would take the decision after considering the pitch conditions. If it is a flat track I would play Peterson or Tahir, but on a difficult batting wicket I would prefer du Plessis. The fast bowling attack is anybody’s guess as it is going to consist of Steyn, Morkel and Tsotsobe. All in all, it is a very strong line-up and can really stake their claims for the tournament. Watch out for them.

STRENGTHS:
1. Strong batting line-up: Smith, Amla, de Villiers, Kallis and the others make a very strong batting line-up with most of them in great form. According to me lot would depend on Hashim Amla as he has showed us in the recent past that he can take the attack to the opposition and also play the role of the sheet anchor.
2. Pace Battery: Under any conditions, no batsman would like to face Steyn, Morkel and Tsotsobe in their current form. They can be lethal anywhere they go.
3. Fantastic fielding: Traditionally, South Africa have been the strongest fielding side. It is no different this time around.

WEAKNESSES:
1. Absence of an out and out hitter at no.7: With Albie Morkel not performing with the ball, South Africa had to make the tough choice of dropping him and playing Botha at no.7. Botha can hit no doubt but I think there is too much pressure on him to do so and it would have been better had someone like Morkel been selected. They Klusner and Pollock in the past. The question is can Botha emulate them with his batting?
2. In crunch games South Africa have traditionally choked. When their progress in the tournament has been dependent on a particular game, they have lost it on almost all occasions. I think it is more psychological than anything else. If they can overcome this problem and play their natural game in the knock out stages then they are the team to beat.

WARM UP FIXTURES:
1. Versus Zimbabwe at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. On February 12 at 02:30 PM IST.
2. Versus Australia at M.Chinaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. On February 15 at 02:30 PM IST.

GROUP FIXTURES:
1. Versus West Indies at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi. On February 24 at 02:30 PM IST.
2. Versus Netherlands at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali. On March 3 at 09:30 AM IST.
3. Versus England at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. On March 6 at 09:30 AM IST.
4. Versus India Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur. On March 12 at 02:30 PM IST.
5. Versus Ireland Eden Gardens, Kolkata. On March 15 at 02:30 PM IST
6. Versus Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur. On March 19 at 09:30 AM Bangladesh Time (09:00 AM IST)

RECORD IN PREVIOUS TOURNAMENTS:
1975 to 1987: Did not participate
1992: Semi finalist. Lost to England in the semi finals.
1996: Quarterfinalist. Lost to West Indies in the quarterfinals.
1999: Semi finalists. Lost to Australia in the semi finals. I don’t think cricket fans would forget this one.
2003: Eliminated in the first round.
2007: Semi finalists. Lost to Australia in the semi finals.


MOST RUNS: Herchelle Gibbs. 1067 runs in 25 matches at an average of 56.15.

MOST WICKETS: Alan Donald. 38 wickets in 25 matches at an average of 24.02