South Africa's Performance at the 2019 CWC
Points Table - Secures 7th position out of 10 Teams
What worked for them? Nothing, really.
1.lost to England by 104 Runs@The Oval on May 30 - Match 01
2. lost to Bangladesh by 21 Runs @ The Oval on June 02 - Match 05
3. lost to India by 6 wickets @ Southampton on June 05 - Match 08
4 Vs West Indies @ Southampton on June 14 - Match 19 Abandoned due to rain
5. defeated Afghanistan by 9 wickets under D/L @ Cardiff on June 15 - Match 21
6 lost to New Zealand by 4 wickets @ Edgbaston on June 19 - Match 25
7 lost to Pakistan by 49 Runs @ Lord's on June 23 - Match 30
8 defeated Sri Lanka by 9 wickets @ Chester le Street on June 28 - Match 35
9 defeated Australia by 10 Runs @ Old Trafford,Manchester on July 06 - Match 45
| 9 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -0.030 |
What worked for them? Nothing, really.
Never earlier had South Africa come into a world cup with lower expectations. That they failed to live up those low standards as well, is enough indication of how poorly the tournament panned out for them. Even before one of the semifinalists was decided, South Africa's hopes of making it to the top-four had ended, before all the teams except Afghanistan.
And to make matters worse, for a good point, they had become the drama queens of the tournament with the saga around AB de Villiers's comeback from retirement that never happened or Kagiso Rabada's IPL stint and whether that shouldn't have happened.
Nonetheless, on the happier side, never had they finished their last match of a World Cup with a smile. The fact that they choked even before they could potentially choke meant that there was enough time to play their game with complete freedom. And when they did, for all its irrelevance, South Africa won their last two league games to finish seventh on the points table: a comprehensive win against Sri Lanka and a strong display versus Australia.
What pulled them back? Injuries/schedule
South Africa's strength coming into the World Cup was their pace attack. In Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Dale Steyn and Anrich Nortje, they had possibly the strongest pace pack. However, at various stages before and during the tournament, injuries came to plague three of the four. And even Rabada, who remained fit for the course, was jaded after a long cricket year. In the end, South Africa were left playing a maximum of three specialist bowlers in most of their games, which in effect made them one of the least penetrative bowling attacks, especially with Tahir and Rabada not firing at their best.
It didn't help matters that their games were packed in the first-half - a phase when few things clicked for them. Had the matches been spread out, they would've possibly found time to work on their shortcomings, find form, distract themselves from the off-field drama and come out fresher like they did in their last few games.
What did they sorely miss? Form of their veterans
Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, David Miller and Imran Tahir didn't turn up as well as they were expected to if South Africa had to have a real chance of finishing in the top four. Even a major chunk of Faf du Plessis's runs came only after South Africa's qualification hopes had ended. And without them leading the way, and no youngster making a telling contribution, it was a team full of disappointing performances.
Best player - Faf du Plessis
For all that it was worth, Faf du Plessis ended the campaign with a half-century and a ton to aggregate a total of 387 runs. He wasn't out of form like the rest of the senior players, but while he looked good through his stay in the middle, he missed out on posting big scores.
Disappointing player - JP Duminy
He could neither accelerate nor consolidate; JP Duminy's final ODI assignment was quite a disappointment, having managed a grand total of 70 runs. There were some fine efforts on the field but his team needed a lot more from the experienced all-rounder.
What's on the highlights reel?
It was a campaign where nostalgia could have its fill for the hunters for the next promising talent. However, the manner in which South Africa beat Australia in their final game served as a good reminder that they were still a good side that just didn't turn up earlier in the tournament. Even as the victory would have had more significance for India, and South Africa's World Cup journey might have ended, there were smiles all around. That's not how they end their World Cup journies. But that's also not how they come and how they play
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