South Africa: Chokers no more

How many times have we heard the same word used to describe the South African cricket team? ‘Chokers’ may not sound too pleasant, but it has been indeed true for many years. Starting from the 1992 World Cup, in which the rain-gods played spoil sport, South African was well on its way to victory, needing 22 runs off 13 deliveries. But as it turned out, due to the “maximum scoring overs” rule which applied when it rained, they needed 21 runs off 1 ball! This infuriated many South African fans, but ultimately their fate was sealed.

If we take a closer look at the team itself, it has provided some phenomenal talent: Batsmen like Gibbs, Kallis, Cronje, Gary Kirsten and Daryll Cullinan all playing in the same team at one point! Then came the ever-so-energetic Rhodes, and the famous bowling line up consisting of the fiery Alan Donald and Shaun Pollock. The likes of Lance Klusner, who at one point was considered as the best all rounder in the World, and Mark Boucher cannot be left out. If you see those names playing together at a point, you’d wonder why the South Africans were never able to win ‘The big one’.

The South African team also hit low patches; their exile from cricket, but the stupendous return only showed their hunger to succeed. Rhodes brought the “new aggression” on the field that everyone is so familiar with now! Who can forget him flying in the air to break the stumps in the ’92 World Cup? Or his outrageous catch of Robert Croft in the ’99 World Cup? He revolutionized how people see fielding as, how it is considered to be one of the most important aspects of the game!

The ’99 World Cup ended the same way as the’92 edition – they only had themselves to blame. Being introduced as the favorites to win the World Cup, the semifinals saw one of the most memorable finishes in World Cup history. Needing one run to win, with Lance ‘Zulu’ Klusner at one end and Alan Donald at the other, the agony amongst the South African fans could be felt through the television screens. That was one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the history of the game. But the worst soon followed.

Captain courageous, Hansie Cronje, was reportedly involved in the match fixing scandal, which shook the cricketing world. It was one of the saddest days the game had ever witnessed; how he broke down into tears while accepting his involvement broke the hearts of millions of South Africans and cricket fans. That was claimed to be the second death of South African cricket. The man with the innocent smile had done the unthinkable. But perhaps, the most tragic moment in South African cricketing history involved the same man, only this time not as the culprit, but as the victim. Cronje died in a plane crash in ’02, and the entire world watched in silence as the man who revived South Africa’s chances in the cricketing world suffered a horrific death. Everyone mourned; some called him a hero in defeat, while some claimed he deserved a better send-off.

South Africa’s status as the ‘chokers’ was still haunting them. In the ICC Champions Trophy in ’02, they were comfortably poised to win against India to go to the finals at 192/1; still needing to go only a little further, they saw a major collapse in their batting order after Gibbs retired hurt. Again, they had no one but themselves to blame.

Then came the ’03 World Cup, where everyone expected the hosts to breeze through to the semis. Only this time, it was much worse; in a knockout match against the SL in the first round, needing to win to go through, the Proteas’ miscalculated the scores, and tied the match, which saw them getting knocked out! However bizarre it may sound, it has been evident that the South Africans haven’t been the best mathematicians! Once again, the fans were devastated.

They were waiting for their share of revenge of what happened in the ’99 semi finals. But they didn’t have to wait for 4 years to get that. Perhaps the best evidence of their resilience came in ’06 when Australia visited South Africa. In the last match of the ODIs, Australia created history by smashing over 430 runs in their allotted 50 overs, with Ricky Ponting playing the innings of his life! But the South Africans weren’t going to give up so easily, as they chased down the total in what would be, in most fans’ minds, the greatest ODI match in history! Tears rolled down the fans’ faces, as they rejoiced what seemed like their World Cup final. Retribution was never so sweet, as the Bull Ring came alive and erupted in joy. But their World Cup ‘chokers’ didn’t end with the ’03 debacle, as they lost to their rivals Australia in the ’07 World Cup SFs, and New Zealand in the ’11 World Cup QFs.

South Africa had its fair share of ups and downs, but they conquered the odds to become the top test team in ’09, which was a short stint. After their recent series win against England, they have once again climbed the ladder to become the top test team, with one of the best captains in the history of the game. This proves that South Africans aren’t ‘chokers’ anymore; they have taken their rightful place as the leaders, and we can only wish them luck, and hope they can finally win the big one when the time comes, because after all, they’re the one big team that hasn’t been able to finish the job. With their new belief, they can finally erase that, and once and for all remove the unpleasant tag which has been haunting them for nearly two decades.