Proteas hope cricket gods will keep smiling on them

Proteas hope cricket gods will keep smiling on them

IT is almost whimsical in its irony, were it not so gut-wrenching that the only major tournament the Proteas Men’s side have won was named the ICC Knockout Trophy.

Because since those heady days in Dhaka all the way back in 1998, there has been just one knockout victory. Their sole success was in the 2015 50-over World Cup quarter-final when the Proteas triumphed over Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) by nine wickets.

The catalyst for that seminal moment in South Africa’s cricket history was a hat-trick from part-time off-spinner JP Duminy.

They will certainly hope that they will not require such acts of divine intervention in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final against Afghanistan in Trinidad today. Rob Walter’s team have certainly had the cricket gods on their side for the duration of this campaign in the US and West Indies.

The Proteas are unbeaten after seven matches and are striving to become the first team to lift the T20 World Cup without having tasted defeat, but it has been a tortuous journey filled with nail-biting finishes.

Four of the Proteas’ matches have been decided in the final over.

There is growing feeling that the Proteas may have used up all their good fortune in this tournament, but considering the wretched luck of previous tournaments it is probably long overdue with loads of credit still available.

“We will draw confidence from the wins. We have won games where we have played well, and also when we haven’t played so well, which is always a good sign,” Walter said.

“We have tried to take each game as they come, and we have managed to string seven (wins) together.

“This unit is experienced in playing these marquee events and big tournaments.

“You don’t win the types of games we have if you don’t have that confidence.

“The confidence is there. There are certain parts of our game which we know we have to brush up on.

“We are real about doing certain things better, and real about where we need to improve aspects of our game and celebrating the things we have got right.”

There is no doubt that the Proteas will need to find their perfect game sooner rather than later because Afghanistan pose a genuine threat at the Brian Lara Stadium.

The Afghans have a serial list of match-winners ranging from their free-scoring opening pair Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, who have three century opening stands at this tournament already, to their inspirational captain Rashid Khan and a steady seam attack that is being led superbly by Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Rashid, Naveen and mystery spinner Noor Ahmed also have the benefit of having played in the SA20 the past couple of seasons.

Walter, though, prefers not to focus on his opponents and instead believes the Proteas have the quality to cross the line.

“We have X-factor players, guys that can make a difference in a very short space of time,” he said.

“Each guy in this team has shown they have the ability to make an impact in the game.”

It is for this reason that Walter is also backing his under-performing opener Reeza Hendricks to strike the right notes when it really matters.

“Reeza has been one of the standout T20 batters in our line-up for a while now. He deserves the opportunity to make a few errors and still feel trusted in our line-up,” he said

“I will always back the guys first. I takes those three innings in New York away, to be fair.

“And then the way he got out the other night, caught down the leg side, you can’t be holding that against the batter.

“We start to put a microscope on the team because it’s at a world event and start to overlook the performances that came prior.

“He certainly has my backing. I know a player of Reeza’s quality is not far off. His best runs are still to come in this campaign.”

Teams for Trinidad

South Africa: Aiden Markram (capt), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.

Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Hazratullah Zazai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik.