The most unfortunate team in the World Cup thus far has been South Africa. They played in their first World Cup in Australia in 1992, however they were unable to bring home the prize because of their 19-run semifinal loss to England. The Most Productive Overs crushed their chances of winning the title with their first-ever World Cup exit.
The Proteas have participated in eight World Cup tournaments to date, but have never been able to win the coveted title. They entered their first World Cup and have advanced to the semifinals in each subsequent tournament. South Africa will aim to win the World Cup under Temba Bavuma if they repeat as semifinalists in 2023.
South Africa isn’t considered one of the favorites to win the World Cup in 2023, but given their respectable One-Day International (ODI) performance in India, they shouldn’t be discounted. Along with Australia, which has triumphed in a few bilateral series with the Men in Blue, South Africa is the only team to have won an ODI series in India in the previous ten years. Let’s assess the Proteas’ strengths, weaknesses, chances, and threats as we continue to discuss South Africa’s World Cup preparation.
The South Africa team’s SWOT analysis is as follows: Strengths Strong batting lineup
Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller are just a few of South Africa’s talented batsmen. Prior to the 2023 World Cup, Klaasen appeared to be hitting with tremendous consistency. With his 57-ball hundred in the fourth ODI at the SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium, the wicketkeeper batsman set a new record in the five-match ODI series against Australia.
With the bat, Aiden Markram also displayed consistency. The 28-year-old’s average score in 2023 is roughly 65. Markram has played in 11 ODIs so far this year and has 577 runs at a strike rate of 119.70. Markram was crucial to South Africa’s success in the ODI series against Australia. He was named Player of the Series after scoring 225 runs in five games at a strike rate of 115.97.
In the Australia series, Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock also displayed respectable play, and they will strive to improve in the 2019 World Cup. David Miller, the team’s most seasoned player, will be responsible for effectively filling the lower middle order position of match finisher.
well-timed attack
In the 2019 World Cup, Kagiso Rabada will be the focal point of South Africa’s pace attack. The speedster, who has played ODI cricket for more than eight years, will be in charge of giving his team early victories with the ball during the competition. In 92 ODIs that he has played in during his international career, he has added 144 wickets to his total.
Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, and Marco Jansen will support Rabada in bolstering the fast-bowling unit. When playing the ball in the home series against Australia, Jansen displayed amazing skill. He picked up a five-wicket haul in the last ODI in Johannesburg, leading his group to a 122-run victory.
Weaknesses
Anrich Nortje is not there
The 2023 World Cup won’t feature Anrich Nortje for South Africa. Due to a lower back injury, the paceman’s participation in the entire competition was prohibited. Nortje, Rabada, and Ngidi may have made the ideal pace trio to worry the opposition with their combined fast-bowling power. It won’t be simple for the South Africa team to step into Nortje’s shoes given his exceptional bowling ability.
The sub-continent’s World Cup history for South Africa
South Africa competed in their first World Cup on the subcontinent in 1996, however they were unable to go past the quarterfinals. The Proteas finished first in their group at the tournament jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. However, they were eliminated from the tournament after losing to the West Indies in the quarterfinals in Karachi.
In 2011, when the World Cup returned to the continent, South Africa once more looked fantastic in the group stage. Under Graeme Smith’s captaincy, South Africa finished first in the table with 10 points after six games. Similar to the 1996 World Cup, the team faltered in the knockout rounds this time as well. This time, in Mirpur, they were defeated by New Zealand by 49 runs.
inadequate spin attack
The South African team won’t have any top-tier spinners at the 2023 World Cup. The spin attack will be handled by Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj, but the Protea cricket team’s supporters may have shivers due to their inexperience and poor performance in the subcontinental nation. In the one ODI he played in India, Tabraiz only recorded one wicket at a cost-prohibitive economy of 11.12. Similar to Keshav, who has only played two one-day matches in India, Keshav also found it difficult to get among the wickets, taking just one victim.
Opportunities
South Africa isn’t the favorite to win the title in the 2023 edition. This unfavorable aspect will relieve Bavuma and his guys of any strain, allowing them to perform well. It has been seen in previous World Cup tournaments how South Africa faltered in crucial circumstances and lost the chance to win the trophy.
The experience of the South African players on Indian soil would also help them do well in this World Cup. Cricket legends from South Africa including Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, and Kagiso Rabada have played a lot of cricket in India. These athletes have made numerous trips to the subcontinent for both bilateral matches and the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Threats
The most significant danger posed by South Africa is the “chokers’ tag.” The Proteas have a reputation for losing their composure during ICC competitions. They performed admirably in the knockout stages of the 1996 World Cup, but ultimately fell to the Windies team. While they were forced to leave the 1999 edition of the event after their stalemate with Australia in the Birmingham semifinal.
As one of the hosts in 2003, South Africa was one of the favorites to win the championship, but their error against Sri Lanka resulted in their elimination. The hosts needed to score 269 to defeat the 1996 World Cup champions in Durban, however because to rain, play was suspended in South Africa’s innings’ 45th over.
The team had enough runs to win, in Mark Boucher’s opinion, so he played the final ball for a dot to tie the score for both teams. Mark Boucher was at the bowling crease. South Africa was ousted from the tournament as a result of the tie-breaking result of the game, which was a game-defining moment for them. South Africa became uneasy in the editions in 2011 and 2015 after 2003. They were defeated by New Zealand in both games of the World Cup. Getting rid of their propensity to falter in crucial games will be one of South Africa’s toughest difficulties in the forthcoming championship.
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