South Africa - Number one due to many reasons - Part 1 - Opinion
This South African side oozes with class. A robust batting line up, a powerful bowling attack and an incredible fielding battery, are what the Proteas have to offer. Skill, guts, determination and a penchant for winning, is the best way to sum up Graeme Smith’s side, which sits pretty at the top of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 Test rankings for teams. No one can dispute that the Proteas well and truly deserved it, after they thumped a formidable English line up at home in the Investec Series of 2012. England were not only outplayed, but destroyed, mentally, psychologically and physically. This ruthlessness was reminiscent of the West Indies of the 1980’s and brought back vague flashbacks of the pace quartet that had dominated world cricket. For the South Africans however, their journey to the number one ranking was never smooth as they had to encounter an array of hurdles, which thwarted their progression towards becoming the best side in the world.
Ever since http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 failed to convince their supporters that the team has the ability to become a champion outfit. This team became a talented, yet downtrodden outfit for the most part of 2005. Ageing players and young guns with plenty of talent, but the inability to perform when pressure hits them hard had plagued South Africa’s ascendancy into the Test arena as a force to be reckoned with.
The tide however, had turned significantly in 2006, but only just, as the wounds of losing key players and games kept on pinching the Proteas badly. Losses to Australia, both home and away, along with mix performances in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in the all important semi final.
The rebuilding phase however, continued unabated to the point of the Proteas coming back into contention. The revamping of the selection process by Cricket South Africa and the emergence of diabolical weapons such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/M-Morkel-c73528, built South Africa to the point of shunning away their past failings and becoming a more confident outfit.
The Morkel/Steyn combination for example, is the most devastating combo in world cricket today, and what makes matters worse for the oppositions is that players such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Neil-Killeen-c79132 instinct.
Continued in Part 2...
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