World Cup 2019: 3 reasons for South Africa’s disastrous campaign so far

South Africa are on the brink of elimination in the group stages of the ICC World Cup 2019 after just one win from six matches so far. Their campaign has been so disastrous that their only win has come against minnows Afghanistan.

Unlike in most other ICC tournaments, the Proteas entered the 2019 World Cup as ‘not one of the favourites’ to go all the way. Many former cricketers felt that this would help Faf du Plessis’ men to fly under the radar and quietly perform well. However, that has not been the case as South Africa have looked a very jaded side without motivation right from the start of the tournament.

Usually South Africa pride themselves on being one of the best fielding sides in the world, but they have been disappointing in that aspect as well. And their lapses have come at very inopportune times in most of the matches, ensuring they end up on the wrong side of the result.

So what are the reasons for Proteas’ terrible World Cup campaign? Here are three of them:

#1 Lack of quality batsmen

Over the years, South Africa have produced great quality batsmen in the form of Greame Pollock, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers (to name a few). However, in the last couple of years, SA have been unable to rope in young talent and are finding it difficult to replace the earlier generation.

The fact that JP Duminy and David Miller are still getting picked and playing in the middle order despite so many failures highlights their problem of scarcity of quality in the first class circuit.

There is no doubt that the team is missing AB de Villiers, who announced his shock retirement last year. But one year is a long enough time for the management to have made a backup plan for the World Cup.

#2 The AB conundrum

2018 Australia Tour to SA: South Africa Training Session and Press Conference

South Africa’s star batsman AB de Villiers retired one year before the World Cup. That came as a shock for many cricket fans across the globe, especially considering how the Rainbow Nation have suffered heartbreaks in ICC tournaments in the past.

While the World Cup was on, there were reports leaked in the media that the right-hander was ready to take back his retirement and be available for the multi-nation tournament to be held in England and Wales. But the selection committee took a stand of not including the star batsman, as it could have set a bad precedent and also been unfair on other players who had put their hands up for the previous one year.

When asked about the incident, both SA captain Faf du Plessis and coach Ottis Gibson agreed on the confusion before the squad was announced. These types of incidents in the middle of such a huge tournament can derail a team, and that's exactly what has happened to South Africa.

#3 Kolpak deals

Somerset v Hampshire - Royal London One Day Cup

This has been the killer blow for South African cricket in recent years. The racial quota in the system has meant that more and more players are feeling unsafe with their cricket future in the country.

A Kolpak deal means a South African player gets transferred to play in county cricket in England, and by doing that he gets disqualified to play for the country.

Fast bowlers Morne Morkel, Duanne Olivier and Kyle Abbott, batsman Rilee Rossouw and all-rounder David Wiese are some of the players who recently made the move as a part of a Kolpak deal.

This has left South Africa high and dry. They have not been able to find suitable replacements after the retirement of some of the greats like Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock.

The authorities must ensure that this doesn't affect their future, because the cricketing world needs a strong and competitive South African side.