Champions Trophy 2017: South Africa have a secret weapon in Hashim Amla, but choking still haunts them

Rainbow nation South Africa are ICC’s number one-ranked one day international team for a very good reason: They have forged a terrific outfit comprising supremely talented individuals who ensure all bases are covered.

Their fast bowlers are as good as any in the world while their batting is outstanding every which way you look at it. In skipper AB de Villiers they have one of the world’s most exciting batsman while others, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, David Millier and JP Duminy are all excellent performers, each capable of winning a match on his own.

Yet, despite such enviable talent in both batting and bowling, if South Africa are still not treated with the respect and awe that ought to have been theirs to command, it is because of the terrible and unwanted tag of being chokers.

Since winning the inaugural ICC Knockout Tournament (later renamed Champions Trophy) in 1998, South Africa have repeatedly choked on the big stage to the extent that the temperament of the entire nation is viewed as being susceptible to pressure.

Critics point out that de Villiers, for all his brilliance with the bat - and there is no denying that he is exceptional – has never won the IPL (Indian Premier League) for Royal Challengers Bangalore. In key matches his temperament has let him down to the extent that lesser batsmen have delivered better dividends.

Indeed it is the South Africans’ inability to deliver at crucial junctures that have bogged down the team.

The latest disappointment was in the second ODI versus England last week. South Africa needed 10 runs from 10 balls with five wickets in hand. The well-set Miler and Chris Morris had already added more than 50 runs in the unbroken partnership and could have been expected to whack two balls out of the park to settle the issue. But they choked. And so horrendously that the last 10 balls yielded just eight runs and without loss of wicket!

That loss will haunt South Africa for long, especially whenever they are in crunch situations. They will doubt their ability to get past the line. It would be a horrendous frame of mind to be in, particularly when they are the top-ranked ODI side in the world and are expected to go very far in the tournament.

Interestingly, South Africa’s group includes powerful cricketing countries India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Each is capable of putting it across the other and hence all matches in the group are extremely important. Only two teams will advance to the semi-finals and as such every side will keep an eye on one another’s run rate and points tally.

Of course, considering that the tournament is being played in England a few matches could be expected to be disrupted by rains. Thus South Africa, like other teams, would have to be aware of the weather and the infamous Duckworth Lewis rain rule.

But other things being equal, South Africa’s batting gives them the edge in this year’s Champions Trophy. They have outstanding power hitters in Miller, Morris, de Kock and of course de Villiers. But their real secret weapon is Amla.

The right-handed opening batsman virtually sneaks up on opposition teams with his calm, calculated strokeplay. He leaves flamboyant batsmanship to his teammates, yet does not lag behind in scoring rate. This is owing to the fact that he is a fantastic timer of the ball. The fact that he recently smashed Virat Kohli’s world record in becoming the fastest to 7,000 ODI runs tells its own tale.

Amla took 11 innings fewer than Kohli to get to the mark. What makes it doubly interesting is that he is the fastest to 4,000, 5,000 and 6,000-run mark as well. Thus any belief that he is a slouch with the bat is entirely erroneous. He will not only keep one end going, but also ensure the scoreboard ticking at a healthy rate.

Master batsman de Villiers will, of course, be the most dangerous batsman. He had earlier stated that he wants to put his Test cricket career on hold in an effort to focus all his energies on his nation winning the 2019 World Cup in England. The Champions Trophy is a key stepping pad towards that end. De Villiers believes that he has already built a team with formidable balance and indications are that he could be right.

However South Africa will be dogged by their country’s laws which call for an average of two black players in the playing eleven. Of course the two-blacks rule need not be followed for every match but over a season. It remains to be seen how this fits into their strategy if owing to injury or other reasons they are unable to field pace ace Kagiso Rabada.

Even otherwise, the bowling attack is stupendous. Rabada, Wayne Parnell, Morris, Morne Morkel could excel in English conditions. Leg spinner Imran Tahir has the experience to be competitive even in conditions not suited to his style of bowling.

It is this rare brilliance in batting and bowling departments that make this South African outfit such a brilliant one. Should they get their act together in crunch situations they would be the team to beat this summer.

South Africa squad: AB de Villiers (C), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Farhaan Behardien, Morne Morkel.