It’s safe to say that none of South Africa’s World Cup experiences have been enjoyable ones. Sure, there have been thumping wins in the group stages, but no one in the rainbow nation cares to remember them given that when it mattered the most, their sons of the soil were unable to deliver and instead, the Proteas wilted in the heat of the moment.
You can take your pick really when it comes to a South African implosion at a World Cup. It started back in 1992, but to be fair, on that occasion Messrs Duckworth and Lewis intervened at a time when the Proteas were well ahead against England in the semi-final.
Many a South African has woken up in a cold sweat with the scoreboard image of 22 runs off 1 ball disturbing a peaceful night’s sleep. It has been dubbed the silly semi-final after the Proteas needed 22 runs off 13 balls before the rain began to fall in Sydney, and even though they were only off the field for 10 minutes, the revised score stayed the same but the number of balls diminished.
Needless to say, South Africa were eliminated by England and missed the chance of making their first World Cup final at the first time of asking. Ever since then, fate with a mixture of madness has seen that the Proteas keep their tag of the perennial bridesmaids. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that those in South Africa are sick of having to witness the same old story unfold every four years and will be desperate to see a change to the agonizing narrative that has plagued their national team
#OnThisDay in 2015, New Zealand beat South Africa in one of the great all-time @cricketworldcup clashes: https://t.co/erEZewb7QS pic.twitter.com/g9ZcmISLOb
— ICC (@ICC) March 24, 2017
How likely that is to happen is hard to say, but they are a fairly long 9/1 to end their World Cup drought based on cricket betting tips from Betfair. Those are certainly not odds that will inspire confidence, but the beauty of sport is that it is unpredictable; just ask anyone on a street in Cape Town, Johannesburg or Durban, and they will give you a first-hand experience of how unpredictable the sport is.
No team arriving in England for the World Cup needs to win the event as much as the Proteas, and with an uncertain political situation in the rainbow nation, there really is no better time for the national team to deliver some much-needed hope and inspiration to every household in South Africa.
All they need to do is call on the spirit of 2006 and the 438 game, often referred to as the best ODI ever, and the Proteas will receive the confirmation that, in fact, anything is possible.
Here’s your team South Africa! #ProteaFire #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/sAcso5pu1f
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) April 18, 2019
If there are any cricketing gods out there, now is the time for them to shine down on a country that needs to win the World Cup for reasons other than just sporting glory. Like the great Nelson Mandela once said, “sport has the power to unite people in a way that little else does”. The time is now, and the need has never been greater, with Faf du Plessis and his men carrying the weight of a nation on their shoulders.
