With the World Cup jinx haunting them since their debut in the 1992 edition, South Africa are treading a more cautious path this time around, avoiding complacency and not thinking too much about their disappointing track record.Duncan Fletcher, the batting consultant of the team and a key member of the think-tank, feels the Graeme Smith-led squad desperately needs luck on their side and adds that the two-time semifinalists are not even favourites going into the tenth edition.
“I don’t see them as favourites at all. India are favourites and I will put Sri Lanka along with them because they are playing all their games at home. Those are sides who are ‘expected to win the World Cup’. There are three sides who can win the World Cup and there is a slight difference. And when I say ‘can win the World Cup’, you have Australia, England and South Africa,” pointed out Fletcher, the former England coach.
A complex rain-rule (1992 semifinal), the more baffling mistake in working out the Duckworth-Lewis target (do-ordie league tie in the 2003 edition), an edge-of-the-seat tied contest (1999 semifinal) have stood between South Africa and a first title but the most comprehensive failure in cricketing terms was in the 1996 event. It was in the sub-continent where South Africa ran into a rampaging Brian Lara in the knockout quarterfinal contest after an all-win record in the league stage.
That setback at Karachi forced the then captain Hansie Cronje to eat his own words after terming that only super humans could defeat his team. The Proteans aren’t repeating their mistakes.
Mark Fletchers’ words: “I think they win too many games early on and somewhere along the line, you are going to lose a game. It might pay to lose a game early on because you need some luck later on in this event. They have always been competitive. In the knockout stage you come across a good side and you have a problem. When you lose to a better side, you have to accept that.”
Conceding that the team lacks a power-hitter, with the likes of Albie Morkel and David Miller ignored by the selectors, Fletcher was ready to look at the positives. “Most of the sides have a weakness somewhere. It’s probably one of the areas South Africa would have loved to have someone who could change the game. But who knows, Faf du Plessis could deliver given a chance. But you could come to a stage where the wickets are really turning and trying to hit the ball out of the park might get you in trouble.”
And you might need players at the back end who can work around the ball. We have seen certain wickets that could be turning and turning. And in those situations, big hitters can get you into trouble during Powerplay,” reasoned Fletcher.
