South Africa have had the most troubled build-up to the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup among the teams that have earned themselves a direct qualification for the Super-12 stage. They have been hit by injuries, their head coach will be stepping down post the tournament for reasons not limited just to cricket and the form of their captain, and especially his T20 credentials, have come under severe scrutiny after a series of poor display with the bat.
And it these weren’t enough to dent their collective confidence, twin series defeats to India in the build-up to the showpiece event laid bare their struggles on the field.
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Rassie van der Dussen, their first-choice allrounder Dwaine Pretorious aren’t part of their squad owing to various injuries. While Van der Dussen, who adds steel to their middle-order, didn’t make the cut in the original squad itself, Pretorious was only ruled out earlier this month midway through the India sojourn.
One of their primary concerns though is the batting form of captain Temba Bavuma who made three runs in three innings against India including back-to-back ducks. And that he bats in the top-order all the more makes his place both crucial and an area that needs immediate attention. It’s curious why South Africa continue to persist with him in the format that he’s deemed not well-suited for.
While there’s no question mark over his leadership skills but Proteas don’t lack in options in this department either. Keshav Maharaj led them admirably in Bavuma’s absence in India when the senior batter was taken ill.
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However, as Bavuma rightly surmised during a pre-tournament presser not all is ‘doom and gloom’ for his team. David Miller is their brightest spark who continues to produce breath-taking performances with the bat consistently while opener and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock seems to be getting back to his best.
They have T20 stars in Rilee Rossouw and the rising Tristan Stubb. And then there’s Reeza Hendricks, their most in-form batter in 2022 and rightly the top run-getter for them with 323 runs in 7 innings.
And bowling has always been a South African team’s strength. They have in the mix the superstar Kagiso Rabdada, the sheer pace of Anrich Nortje and the much improved Lungi Ngidi with the lanky Marco Jansen a late addition.
Historically, spin hasn’t been their strength but in Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi –at one stage the world’s top-ranked T20I bowler – they have two quality options as well.
How they fared last time?
Well, what’s a world cup without South Africa not being unlucky? Or in this case net run-rate being the villain in their story. The Bavuma-led side started their campaign with defeat to eventual champions Australia. But they fought hard defending 119 against them.
However, the defeat turned out to be a major deciding factor in their eventual exit from the group stage itself. Despite bouncing back beating West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and England for four wins in a row, South Africa finished third as second-placed England sneaked ahead thanks to a superior net run-rate.
Players to Watch Out For
David Miller: No doubts about who is going to be their driving force in the campaign. Though Miller bats a little deeper – no 5 – more often than not, he has found himself earlier in the middle than anticipated and saddled with the task of reviving the innings and providing the late flourish too. Miller nearly dragged them to what would have been a famous win against India in a high-scoring encounter earlier in October but his sparkling century proved inadequate. With 283 runs from 10 innings, he’s their second highest run-getter in 2022 so far.
Lungi Ngidi: The stardom of Rabada and the lightning pace of Nortje might end up casting a bit of a shadow on Ngidi but the pace ace has quietly gone about his job, taking wickets and plenty of them this year – 15 so far in 2022 which is the most by any South African bowler. He has shown superb control over the slower delivery and made the batters work for their shots. However, it’s likely that SA may end up preferring Nortje over Ngidi.
Strongest Playing XI
Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c)/Reeza Hendricks, Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje/Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi
Full Squad
Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Reeza Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Rillee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubb, Marco Jansen
South Africa Fixtures
- October 24: vs B1, Bellerive Oval, Hobart
- October 27: vs Bangladesh, Sydney Cricket Ground
- October 30: vs India, Perth Stadium
- November 3: vs Pakistan, Sydney Cricket Ground
- November 6: vs A2, Adelaide Oval
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