South Africa find themselves third time unlucky as their world cup campaign ends in glorious failure once again.
Third time’s not a charm for South Africa.
When South Africa made it to the World Cup final for the first time, at the 2023 home T20 World Cup, they were only content to be there. The second time, a year later, they were exhausted after defeating Australia, the reigning champions, and played the game of their life in the semifinal. However, until South Africa failed once more, the third, which was also their first in the ODI World Cup, appeared to be the magic bullet.
It’s important to keep in mind that they failed. They didn’t choke or embarrass themselves. They lost a cricket match to a superior side that, in fact, saw it as their date with destiny. In sports, these kinds of things do occasionally occur.
However, that did not lessen the impact in the immediate aftermath. With tears welling up in her eyes, Marizanne Kapp, likely participating in her final ODI World Cup, sat in the dugout and disregarded the consoling hand resting on her shoulder. Even though Laura Wolvaardt and Nadine de Klerk pretended to smile, the astonishment was still visible on their features as they sat together. Tazmin Brits sat by herself, thinking about what might have happened while gazing at nothing in particular.
Give special consideration to Wolvaardt, who is currently the second-highest World Cup run scorer overall and the top run scorer in a single ODI World Cup.
She may believe she earned more than a runners-up medal after scoring hundreds in the semifinal and final, making eight catches during the competition, and becoming a more astute captain, but sports can be cruel.
In the year prior to the World Cup, South Africa had won six of 13 One-Day Internationals (ODIs). However, they had lost a series against England and failed to advance to the final of a triangular series including India and Sri Lanka.
The fact that they defeated Sri Lanka and India in the group stage then came back from 69 all out against England prior to the knockout stages to defeat them by 125 runs in the semi-final illustrates how bilateral form is rarely a reliable indicator of major tournament success.
In addition to celebrating each player’s unique contribution, it is necessary to acknowledge the players who did not perform well and to show empathy in the process.
Everyone enters a tournament with the intention of giving it their all, but for some, that simply doesn’t happen. At the competition, Anneke Bosch scored just 35 runs in six innings, including three ducks. In the final, she dropped Shafali Verma on 56, which cost South Africa 31 runs. South Africa always believed they needed a batting cushion for a large chase, but there were reasons to leave her out of the final XI in favour of an additional seamer like Masabata Klaas.
South Africa will undoubtedly question the strategies and opportunities they missed, but some perspective will remind them that they still exceeded expectations by making it to the final. Additionally, they carried on a tradition of greatness that dates back to 2023, when the same team made history by being the first senior team to advance to a World Cup final. Even though they are making every effort to view the wider picture, they cannot continue to do so indefinitely.
But now that they can make it to the finals (six in all forms, genders, and age groups since that 2023 T20 final), people will wonder when South Africa can advance and take home trophies. As of right now, the response is: not this time.