South Africa faltering with over confidence - Part 2 - Opinion
Continued from Part 1...
For South Africa, their problems have not entirely been their performance on the field. The team is struggling to find a long term replacement for that sacred number 3 position that had historically been occupied by arguably the most formidable batsman of
all time. Jacques Kallis, and his absence on the field or with the willow in hand, is being gravely felt by the Proteas, despite whispers of his inaptness for the ODI format. A lot of promise was shown by the technically sold Jean Paul Duminy, to at least
play a makeshift role, if not fill Kallis' shoes for the long-term. Early wickets tumbling has historically meant that the best batsman that South Africa have should come in at number 3 and anchor the innings. Sadly, the team has found it hard to decide which
player has the ability to take up the responsibility of anchoring the innings and steering it out of troubled waters.
Duminy contributed just 18 runs at the top before he faltered eventually and something similar happened in the 3rd ODI at the Kennington Oval in London. South Africa witnessed wickets falling at regular intervals, which meant that they needed
a solid foundation to be rescued by someone. Duminy failed to deliver in that game, and the fragile lower order meant that the Proteas had to settle for scores which were well below the par total of 250, which in modern day cricket, is considered to be a formality.
Duminy’s failings meant that the onus was on captain AB de Villiers to outperform and play an innings of real substance. Charging down the wicket, playing across the line, and aiming for that big heave over cow corner, has triggered the downfall of South
Africa’s skipper on numerous occasions. De Villiers' inability to play a captain’s innings after promising starts, stood in stark contrast to the days when Graeme Smith took it upon himself to lead from the front and guide the Proteas home. For de Villiers,
leading from the front has become a tedious and cumbersome task, as the burden of captaincy is rubbing off on his ‘no holds-barred’ approach to the one-day game.
The heavy reliance on Hashim Amla and the poor form of Graeme Smith has also pushed South Africa on the back foot in this series. Despite England facing problems with their top order, South Africa’s ability to post a formidable total has rested on Hashim
Amla scoring plenty of runs or Graeme Smith playing an innings of substance. Smith’s dismissals in the series, where he has sought to charge down the wicket and dictate terms to the bowlers has triggered his downfall in times when South Africa needed something
formidable at the top of the order.
The bowling has also looked dry, where the inclusion of Dale Steyn was the only real hope of injecting venom in an otherwise cold attack. Lonwabo Tsotsobe has been impressive without being fancy, yet barring him and the occasional brilliance of Robin Peterson,
South Africa’s attack has looked monotonous from the outset. It wasn’t surprising that opener Ian Bell milked the Protea bowlers all around the park at Lord's, and ensured that the Poms sealed a comfortable victory. His 88 runs which constituted 8 boundaries
and a towering six left South Africa clueless.
The Choking tag is pretty much stifling South Africa at the moment. Not winning big or important games to seal the series or a global tournament would mean that they would always be beatable in the ODI format. For a team that has undergone a history of capitulating
under pressure, this is indeed a damning indictment.
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