Firstpost
  • Home
  • Video Shows
    Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports
  • World
    US News
  • Explainers
  • News
    India Opinion Cricket Tech Entertainment Sports Health Photostories
  • Asia Cup 2025
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
Trending:
  • Nepal protests
  • Nepal Protests Live
  • Vice-presidential elections
  • iPhone 17
  • IND vs PAK cricket
  • Israel-Hamas war
fp-logo
Pakistan vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Bunch of walking dead Proteas stumble from indifference to ignominy
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter
Apple Incorporated Modi ji Justin Trudeau Trending

Sections

  • Home
  • Live TV
  • Videos
  • Shows
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Health
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • Web Stories
  • Business
  • Impact Shorts

Shows

  • Vantage
  • Firstpost America
  • Firstpost Africa
  • First Sports
  • Fast and Factual
  • Between The Lines
  • Flashback
  • Live TV

Events

  • Raisina Dialogue
  • Independence Day
  • Champions Trophy
  • Delhi Elections 2025
  • Budget 2025
  • US Elections 2024
  • Firstpost Defence Summit
  • Home
  • First Cricket
  • First Cricket News
  • Pakistan vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Bunch of walking dead Proteas stumble from indifference to ignominy

Pakistan vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Bunch of walking dead Proteas stumble from indifference to ignominy

Telford Vice • June 24, 2019, 08:45:16 IST
Whatsapp Facebook Twitter

The current South Africa team has lost an important part of their South Africaness. They have worn their failures at this tournament too casually, and tried to explain them away too glibly.

Advertisement
Subscribe Join Us
Add as a preferred source on Google
Prefer
Firstpost
On
Google
Pakistan vs South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Bunch of walking dead Proteas stumble from indifference to ignominy

Please forgive the personal nature of what will come next. But this is personal. I’ve been reporting on South Africa since 1991 and never have I seen a performance that could fairly be labelled as rubbish. Until Sunday at Lord’s, that is. South Africa, Imran Tahir excepted, were rubbish with the ball. They were even more rubbish with the bat. They weren’t rubbish in the field — but they were so rubbish at the crease that they couldn’t take advantage of a rubbish Pakistan fielding display in which six catches fell to earth untaken. As Faf du Plessis said, “It’s becoming a little bit embarrassing.” A little bit? All this, and understatement too. South Africa have never been better led, and yet there is a strange hollowness at the centre of this team. It goes beyond the injuries that have befallen them, beyond the common or garden things that can go wrong on a cricket ground, and beyond bad luck. They do not deserve to go any further in this tournament, and now they won’t. And it hurts. Not that they have bombed out of another World Cup, but how. [caption id=“attachment_6868711” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]Despite being an able leader, Faf du Plessis’ captaincy in World Cup has lacked purpose. AP Despite being an able leader, Faf du Plessis’ captaincy in World Cup has lacked purpose. AP[/caption] The Gods know that South Africa have been shot in this movie so many times before. From 1992 to 2011, they found all sorts of ways not to play to their potential. But never have they crashed and burned like this. Even in 2003, the only other time they have failed to punch their way out of the wet paper bag of the first round, they had three wins in six games. That those successes were achieved against Kenya, Bangladesh and Canada can’t be scoffed at unreservedly; those were the days when South Africa actually beat teams like Bangladesh. This year they have lost five of their seven matches, including against Bangladesh. And, unlike in 2003 when their fate was sealed by a Duckworth/Lewis tie against Sri Lanka in their last group match, this time they have been removed from the equation with matches still to be played. A new low was reached on Sunday when Quinton de Kock appeared to take issue verbally with Kagiso Rabada for not bowling a short ball even though a short leg had been deployed. Then du Plessis levelled a dim view at de Kock for staying in his follow through instead of running for a stroke that wasn’t going to reach the boundary. That’s another first for me. South Africa’s players will have a quiet grumble about each other to each other, but they don’t let it get ugly. For instance, during Hashim Amla’s short and unhappy captaincy tenure, the retired Graeme Smith stood on a landing at Kingsmead and caught Dean Elgar’s eye in the slip cordon to gesture, angrily, that the skipper needed to get a spinner on in a hurry. Elgar’s reply was a shrug of frustration. Smith no doubt hoped he had conveyed his message unseen, but it’s hard to hide someone as big ripping his log of a right arm through the air at speed, his meaty hand curled into an off-spinner’s grip. What Amla or South Africa did was no longer Smith’s problem. But that didn’t mean he had stopped caring about how things were done, and so he felt fully entitled to have a what he thought was a stern but quiet word. It was good to see that. Haa this team stopped caring even enough to have their squabbles in private? That would be too harsh a criticism. Rather, there comes a point when you care too much to worry about who is or isn’t watching. But this team has nonetheless lost an important part of their South Africaness. They have worn their failures at this tournament too casually, and tried to explain them away too glibly. There is value in your team telling themselves that they are not as strong as previous editions and present opposition company, but only if they have the mental skills and the maturity to navigate the pitfalls on that path — the emotional intelligence to understand that there is strength to be mined from seams of what might appear to be weaknesses. We no longer have stars like AB de Villiers? No matter: now we know we have to pull together better than ever. But that thinking has backfired on these South Africans. They now seem to be unsure of how strong they are and it’s damaging them. Du Plessis spoke of confidence being “chipped away”. How much of that can be put down to his players reminding each other of their frailties, or at least not talking up their strengths, if that’s what they are doing? Whatever else sperm cells do, they don’t stop swimming. And good luck trying to tell them not to. Kagiso Rabada is a case in point. The heir apparent to Dale Steyn, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Allan Donald — and everybody else in the annals of those who have had the vim, vigour and violence to lead South Africa’s attack — the kid who bowled his team all the way to glory at the 2014 under-19 World Cup, has taken six wickets at 50.83 in this tournament. He has bowled like a husk of his former, fiery self; a feeble facsimile of the rasping innings wrecker he used to be. South Africa sound, mostly, like the team they used to be and to the unaccustomed eye they will appear to be true to their template. But, if you’ve been watching them for a while, you will know that’s not true. Who are these masked men and what have they done with South Africa’s team? Who told them to stop swimming, and why? For all the latest news, opinions and analysis from ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, click here

Tags
Graeme Smith Hashim Amla Faf du Plessis Pakistan vs South Africa ICC World Cup Quinton de Kock World Cup Cricket ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 World Cup 2019 Pakistan World Cup 2019 South Africa
End of Article
Latest News
Find us on YouTube
Subscribe
End of Article

Impact Shorts

'Won't require surgery...': Real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's absence from 5th Test revealed in new report

'Won't require surgery...': Real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's absence from 5th Test revealed in new report

Jasprit Bumrah was rested for fifth Test against England at The Oval Workload management was believed to be the reason behind Bumrah's absence The pacer, however, reportedly has a knee injury, a BCCI official claimed in a report.

More Impact Shorts

Top Stories

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House

Top Shows

Vantage Firstpost America Firstpost Africa First Sports

QUICK LINKS

  • Continuity over change: Why Team India could go with the same XI in Asia Cup after UAE victory
Latest News About Firstpost
Most Searched Categories
  • Web Stories
  • World
  • India
  • Explainers
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Cricket
  • Tech/Auto
  • Entertainment
  • IPL 2025
NETWORK18 SITES
  • News18
  • Money Control
  • CNBC TV18
  • Forbes India
  • Advertise with us
  • Sitemap
Firstpost Logo

is on YouTube

Subscribe Now

Copyright @ 2024. Firstpost - All Rights Reserved

About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms Of Use
Home Video Shorts Live TV