Proteas disappoint in Champs Trophy

20 June 2013

South Africa exited the ICC Champions Trophy in disappointing fashion at The Oval on Wednesday when, after being put in to bat, a top-order collapse undermined their challenge, allowing England to cruise to victory by seven wickets with more than 11 overs to spare.

Inevitably, the c-word, “choke”, was raised about the Proteas’ poor performance. “It’s definitely a dark mist that hangs over South African cricket,” coach Gary Kirsten admitted at a post-match press conference.

“At some point we have to try and cross the line. We need some real charisma and some real guts and glory to get over the line. It might not be pretty, but at some point we are going to have to do it to get rid of this mist.”

Batting struggles

On a pitch that did a bit for the bowlers at the start of the game, South Africa lost their first wicket in the first over of their innings and their second in the second over. They struggled to recover and by the 23rd over, the Proteas were all but out of the contest at 80 for 8.

David Miller, with an unbeaten 56 off 51 balls, and Rory Kleinveldt, with 43 off 61 deliveries, then gave the innings a huge lift with a partnership of 95. However, 175, scored in only 38.4 overs, was far too little to set England a decent challenge.

“A great innings by David Miller and Rory Kleinveldt at the end, but to have quality batsmen like that not being able to make a contribution was disappointing,” was Kirsten’s assessment of his charges’ batting effort.

Six catches

England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler enjoyed the conditions, snaring six catches, while James Tredwell knocked over 3 for 19 in seven overs, James Anderson 2 for 14 in eight, and Stuart Broad 3 for 50.

Minus Dale Steyn, out of the match due to injury once more, it was always going to be a very tough ask for the South African attack to bowl England out. To win, that would be the requirement given South Africa’s low total, but unlike in test cricket, the attack did not include Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander with time to work their opponents over.

To rub salt into the Proteas’ wounds, former South African Jonathan Trott played the anchor role for the home team, finishing unbeaten on 82 off 84 deliveries, as England reached 179 for 3 in 37.3 overs. Joe Root lent strong support with 48 and shared a stand of 105 with Trott.

Missing stars

Questioned about the effect of missing Steyn, Morkel, Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith, Proteas’ coach Kirsten answered: “We’re used to not having our top players playing for us all the time. In fact, what we tried to do is broaden the base of our team, so we’ve had some good players come through into the team. We like to think that we can perform with anyone out there.”

He also admitted that the Proteas had been far from their best in the Champions Trophy, saying: “I think if we have to be realistic, in the tournament we ended up with one win. We have been up and down in our one-day cricket for a while. We haven’t been consistent in our one-day cricket.

“That’s maybe because we’ve explored quite a lot of combinations over the last two years. We’ve rested our test players quite a bit to try and broaden the base of our one-day team.”

Consistency

And that, maybe, is the reason why South Africa is struggling in the 50 over a side game. For a long time, the Proteas were one of the most consistent teams in one-day international cricket, from about the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, and the top players played, with not much chopping and changing. Consistent selection of the best players led to consistently good results.

Kirsten may have built a base with his approach, but it’s hard to think that any team minus four world class stars would be able to perform to the standards it would have attained with those players in the mix.

It hasn’t worked in ODI cricket, but the freshness of those players, having not played that much one-day cricket, could be a significant part of the reason why South Africa’s test team has swept all before it.

Praise for Kirsten

Captain AB de Villiers praised Kirsten, who will now step down as coach of the Proteas. “He will be dearly missed. He’s a hell of a human being,” De Villiers said.

“He means a lot to the team. He took us to the next level, there’s no doubt about it and he’ll be remembered in the side, the traditions and the things he started with the team.

“He’s just irreplaceable. He’ll be missed.”