South Africa have exited the T20 World Cup at the semi-final stage at the hands of New Zealand. They were on the receiving end of a pummeling from Kiwi batter, Finn Allen, who smashed 100 runs off 33 balls.
This result was quite shocking when you consider the route that they took. They remained unbeaten, having gone through the group and Super 8 stages. In the process they defeated: Canada; Afghanistan; Oman; New Zealand; Zimbabwe; West IIndies and co-host, India.
The problems started when South Africa lost the toss. Those around the players at the time Mitchell Santner announced he would put them in to bat said they saw bemused expressions and faces drop as their reality sunk in. South Africa had already decided it was easier to chase, based on what they experienced at optional training on Tuesday evening.
Feedback from that was that batting second would be far easier, given the dew and the ease with which the ball comes onto the bat later in the game. The evidence of the match proved the point, but it is not the only reason South Africa were outplayed.
Their approach to setting a total appeared indecisive and in complete contrast to the way they had batted in the competition before this game. Though their previous bat-first matches were all in Ahmedabad, even when they lost an early wicket (one against Afghanistan and three against India), they were able to recover by absorbing pressure and then transferring it back to the opposition. Here, they imploded.
New Zealand played the perfect match-up when they gave their offspinner, Cole McConchie, the new ball against Quinton de Kock, who got four when he reached for the second ball he faced and then was caught off the next one. De Kock's aggression was premeditated but coach, Shukri Conrad, put that down to the way this format works. "Does he stand there and just see him off," Conrad asked. "He's got to make a play at some stage, you know."
You could argue that Ryan Rickelton did that too early, off the first ball he faced, when he cut McConchie to short third. Batting coach, Ashwell Prince, explained it as the batters "playing instinctively" throughout the tournament and being encouraged to keep doing that even though he saw the argument that Rickelton "should give himself a little bit more time."
From there, there was no proper recovery until Marco Jansen's 30-ball 55 which Prince said spoke as much to conditions as to New Zealand plans. "It felt really difficult to hit a four, a boundary four on the ground, meaning the ball was not coming on enough and you can't stroke through the ball. To hit a boundary, you felt that we had to go in the air and every time we went in the air, we got one off the toe or on the splice of the bat."
In the perfect storm of not being able to time the ball through the gaps and mis-hitting in the air, South Africa went 20 balls without a boundary between the tenth and the 13th overs and lost David Miller and Dewald Brevis in that time. Then, they couldn't find the rope for another 17 balls between the 14th and 17th as momentum was consistently stalled.
By the time they got to the final over, they were 163-6 and could've pushed for 180-plus but Jansen was off strike second ball and two wickets fell at the other end. "We were particularly poor in the way we managed that last over," Conrad said. "Marco was flaying it from the one side but stood there watching other guys get out. All in all, not very good."
That applied with the ball too. New Zealand had some luck early in the chase when one edge from Tim Seifert went between slip and short third; another didn't carry and then a top-edge fell safe as de Kock ran back to take a catch that he could've left for Brevis at fine leg. They then took control. South Africa bowled too short, best illustrated by Corbin Bosch's first over going for 22 runs and the match was lost before the powerplay was out.
Should South Africa have considered spin in the form of Keshav Maharaj earlier? "We always fancied Marco with a new ball, the swinging ball," Conrad said. "In hindsight, we can ask a lot of questions, but the first couple of overs, it looked as if KG [Kagiso Rabada] and Marco troubled them to a certain degree. And then the floodgates opened after that."
How a South African attack that adapted so well to changing conditions - albeit mostly at one venue with different pitches - were so one-dimensional is puzzling but their task was too big anyway. In the end, South Africa went from running hot to being absolutely torched by New Zealand and instead of sulk, they fell over themselves to praise the opposition.
Gracious as South Africa were in defeat, they won't be able to ignore the noise that will come with another nightmare end to a tournament where things seemed to be going so well. They have had this before, probably most notably in 1999 but also as recently as the T20 World Cup in 2024; where they went eight games unbeaten only to lose the final to India. So it's not new but it is painful.
With Australia out of the way from much earlier in the group stage and India and England on the other side of the draw, the path to the final and a shot at redemption after what happened in 2024 was paved with hope and lit by destiny. People had stopped whispering that perhaps this could be South Africa's time. They were saying it out loud on group chats and around the grounds.
Over the last few weeks, it felt like nothing could go wrong and then everything went wrong, all at once.
Despite South Africa being favourites, I was highly sceptical about The Proteas progressing to the final. I think it's what's happened in past tournaments that sparked this belief. I wasn't exactly gobsmacked by the result. I was, however, shocked at the amount of balls/overs remaining.
There are two factors for this latest failure. The squad selection by head coach, Shukri Conrad and Convenor Selecter, Patrick Maroney. Additionally, Aiden Markram's captaincy has been at fault. For the most part, I believe it's the selections that are the main issue.
The selection was pretty much the same old same old. That is where the problems lie. There were no real surprises in the squad. It was actually shocking to see who was picked and who wasn't.
I believed that the SA20 could've acted as auditions for the World Cup. A multitude of players were on display. Yet, despite the various performances, there were no real surprises. Players like Duan Jansen and Kwena Maphaka were ommited.
No one was more robbed of a place in the squad than Ottneil Baartman. He was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament and was a superb 'death' bowler.
Former Proteas fast bowler, Dale Steyn, was just as baffled. He said, "Can someone please explain what Baartman has done wrong???? Like, seriously! WT**!" said Steyn on X.
Later on, Steyn also spoke on the matter when he said: "We really need to start looking at Baartman as one of SA’s best white ball bowlers," said Steyn on X.
"He’s the highest wicket-taker in SA20, won the league twice, and made a final, let me remind you, that’s a comp that has 4 INTERNATIONAL players (often batters) plus all the PROTEAS! He’s number 1. That’s TOP quality, but he’ll be sitting home for this year’s 20/20 WC."
If there's one thing I've noticed about Conrad's selections, it's that he likes to play favourites. Even if a batter or bowler are putting in poor performances, the respective player/s can rest easy as he knows that they will be picked next time.
A prime example of this favouritism is that of Conrad's 'golden boy', Tony de Zorzi. No matter how he performs, he'll always find himself in the squad. He was set to play for the Durban Supergiants in the SA20.
At the end of the day, he didn't play a single match due to injury. For any other player, they could kiss their chances of going to the World Cup goodbye. Not for de Zorzi though, as he got picked despite not hitting a ball. Thankfully, he had to step aside as he was still recovering from injury.
He has once again been picked for the limited overs series in New Zealand later this month. In my view, de Zorzi hasn't proven himself worthy to be part of the national side. He's been given chance after chance but hasn't repaid the faith.
Shukri Conrad needs a kick up the backside to get a reality check. He needs to 'forget' his 'golden boy' and his favourites idealisations. He needs to be more objective with his selections. Pick players that are performing well and who have really earned a spot in the respective squad.
Keeping the core of a successful squad is vital. However, new 'blood' needs to be introduced periodically to re-vitalise the squad and to ensure more success in the future.
I am, by no means, saying that Aiden Markram is a bad captain but I do think he should take some captaincy lessons. I feel that South Africa won't completely succeed with him in charge.
His stats aren't something to marvel at. His win % stands at around 50. To me, this isn't acceptable. An acceptable range for me would be 65 onwards. To me, he's a bang average captain.
If there's one thing I noticed and what infuriates me about his captaincy, it's that he chooses to review every decision that doesn't go in South Africa's favour. On most occasions, he's wrong and they lose a review. He needs to realise that he doesn't have to review EVERY decision.
Being a captain isn't exactly a new aspect to him. I believe that he should be more wiser. He doesn't always have to be the hero. He shouldn't hog the spotlight. Cricket, after all, is a team sport. Multiple people can play vital roles in a possible victory.
I can only guess that I'm not going to get supported for my above views but that's how I feel about the current situation in the national set-up. My dear readers, this is only my opinion but I hope you see some truths in what I've written.
I believe I've established some facts to the failure of the T20 World Cup campaign.