South Africa‘s journey on ICC World Cup 2019 ended with a satisfying victory over old foe Australia by 10-runs. They won their last match against a front runner of the World Cup, but it can’t cover the extreme disappointing campaign they had. World Cup 2019 brought South Africa nothing but pain, misery, and frustration. This is one of the worst tournament in their cricket history. Here is South Africa ICC CWC Report 2019.

South Africa ICC CWC Report 2019

Overview

South Africa wasn’t a contender for the World Cup. But, they were the number 3 team in ODI ranking. This gave fans some hope. Many people were thinking them as the dark horse of the tournament. Sadly, the horrendous first week literally broke their confidence significantly. They failed to recover it. Losses to England, Bangladesh, India, main pacer Dale Steyn out from a shoulder injury and batsman AB De Villiers refused to join in the team, pretty much summed up their horrific tournament.

They earned a convincing win over Afghanistan, but then another heartbreaking loss to New Zealand arrived by an outstanding century from the Kiwis captain Kane Williamson. They also got hammered by Pakistan, which sealed their fate in the tournament. The win over tournament favorite Australia kept their ”elite” status though. Finally, the 2015 semi-finalists undergone a heart-rending tournament they want to forget. The two-win put them seventh in the point table and there’s basically no positive output from their entire campaign.

 Plus Point

The weakest point of South Africa was their entire batting lineup. They didn’t live up to the expectations and failed awfully. Rassie Van Der Sar was the only exception. The right-hander scored three half-centuries and his average was more than 70. He is now looking to establish himself as the pillar of Proteus’s batting lineup sooner as they set their sights on 2023 World Cup.

Rassie Van Der Ser showed consistency in terms of batting
Rassie Van Der Ser showed consistency in terms of batting

Quinton de Kock also showed his batting maturity along with his wicket-keeping might. The Johannesburg born cricketer has the potential to remain South Africa’s center of hope for upcoming years.

Improvement Sections

South Africa’s pace attack is always admirable. But, they couldn’t prove it this time. Dale Steyn was out of injury and other pacers couldn’t manage to fill his gap. South African Cricket Board should do a better job to bring out the world-class pacer again in Proteus squad.

The batting was also impendent as big names like Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis showed time is running out for them.

Rising Star

Andile Phehlukwayo showed his potential in the campaign. He was definitely not a very high-level performer but his complete performance in batting and bowling especially in bowling showed the hints of his spirit. He took nine wickets with the ball and show the bigness of his capability.

Andile Phehlukwayo was not consistent but showed his caliber
Andile Phehlukwayo was not consistent but showed his caliber
Bowling Report of Andile Phehlukwayo
Match Name Wkts BB RC ER Mds Wd Nb 4s 6S C&B
ENG Vs SA 1st Match  1 48 44 5.5  0  4  0 4  0  0
SA Vs BAN 5th Match  2 60 52 5.2  1  3  0 4  0  0
SA Vs IND 8th Match  1 51 40 4.71  0  1  0 5  0  0
SA Vs WI 15th Match  – – – –  –  –  – –  –  –
SA Vs AFG 21st Match  2 48 18 2.25  1  0  0 1  0  0
NZ Vs SA 25th Match  1 51 78 8.59  0  3  1 7  2  0
PAK Vs SA 30th Match  1 42 48 6.86  0  2  1 4  1  0
SL Vs SA 35th Match  1 48 38 4.75  0  2  0 3  0  0
AUS Vs SA 45th Match  2 17 22 7.76  0  1  0 2  0  0

Note: Wkts: Wickets, BB: Balls Bowled, RC: Runs Conceded, E/R: Economy Rate, Mds: Maidens, Wds: Wides, Nb: No Balls, C & B: Caught and Bowled

Results

Date Opponent Result
30 May England England won by 104 runs
02 June Bangladesh Bangladesh won by 21 runs
05 June India India won by six wickets
10 June West Indies No result
15 June Afghanistan South Africa won by nine wickets
19 June New Zealand New Zealand won by four wickets
23 June Pakistan Pakistan won by 49 runs
28 June Sri Lanka South Africa won by nine wickets
06 July Australia South Africa won by 10 runs

 

This tournament completely shows that South Africa’s motive force has been dried completely. Sometimes, they played like they’ve no idea what they’re doing. South African Cricket Board have a big task ahead of the next World Cup. The core of the team needs to change. Batting lineup needs a huge shake as soon as possible. It’ll be interesting how the CSA will react to this disaster.