Cricket's eternal bridesmaid

Every time the South Africans board the plane for a World Cup, one thing that’s added to their baggage — much to their discomfort — is the 'chokers' tag. It keeps staring at their faces that eventually disintegrates them.

Blessed with an array of talent in the batting and bowling department, the South Africans generally arrive for the showpiece event in resplendent form. They then roll over most comers in the group stage but end up suffering agonising losses in the knockout stage. In fact, since their maiden World Cup appearance in 1992, the Proteas hadn’t won a single knockout game before clearing that hurdle four years ago with a commanding quarterfinal win over Sri Lanka.

And when skipper AB de Villiers stated that his team is not carrying the baggage of the past and are looking to write their own history, expectations from fans soared. It looked like the Proteas — armed with de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock and David Miller in the batting department and Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel in the bowling department — would finally scale the peak.

But the inability to keep their composure during tense finishes eventually cost them a place in the final. Tasked with defending 12 runs in the last over, Steyn conceded a six off the penultimate ball as New Zealand pulled off a heroic chase — scoring 299/6 in a rain-truncated game. Ironically, it was South African born Grant Elliott who kept his cool and scored the winning shot that left de Villiers an emotional wreck at the post-match press conference.

Unsurprisingly, current skipper du Plessis too was asked about ‘chokers’ label and the ice-cool Pretorian had this too offer. “In previous World Cups, we wanted to do Superman things. As a captain, I probably speak more about that than previous captains. I’ve been there and I know the pressures, I understand how to deal with them. There’s a reason why we want the guys to play freely — because we don’t want them to have a fear of failure, which is what the World Cup is for some of them. Our success in England over the next couple of months depends on how well we release that aspect of our play.”

Given the all-play-all-once format of this World Cup, the South Africans are among the favourites to make the semifinal grade because of the high quality ammunition in their arsenal. Batsmen Du Plessis, Amla, de Kock, David Miller and JP Duminy are immensely experienced while in Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo they have three searing young pacers who can have many a batsman hop in their crease. Add the experience of veterans Steyn in the pace department and Imran Tahir in spin, they have a well balanced side in terms of youth and experience.

The question is how will they fare if they make the semifinals. Will they cave in like the sides of the past or will they rise against the tide? Can they go from being ‘chokers’ to champions? Only they can answer these questions that’s been hounding them for decades.

The squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen, Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram, JP Duminy, Chris Morris, Imran Tahir, Lungi Ngidi, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn.