World Cup 2019: 3 things that went wrong for South Africa

3. Spineless batting

The experienced pair of De kock and Amla has failed to give good starts to the side

The absence of AB de Villiers is haunting the Proteas; the line-up has looked spineless and the batsmen have failed to put up a decent challenge. The newcomer Rassie van der Dussen has been the only positive for the side, while the other youngster Aiden Markram has been a complete disappointment.

The experienced duo of Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla has been terrible, with Amla continuing his poor form and De Kock not being able to convert starts. Amla averages below 25 and De Kock has an average of 39, which is boosted by a 68 against Afghanistan.

Faf du Plessis has shown some fight but has not got enough support from others. Like De Kock, the skipper has also been guilty of throwing away starts.

David Miller has not crossed the 40-run mark in his 4 innings and JP Duminy was dropped after three games, averaging just above 18. De Kock's 68 against Afghanistan is the highest from any South African player in this World Cup and and there have been only 7 fifties scored by them so far, which is abysmally low as compared to other teams.

The failure of the whole batting unit has been the biggest let-down for the Proteas.

South Africa never really turned up for the World Cup, as is evident from the lack of fighting spirit that they are known for. The quality of cricket they are playing is way below what they are capable of, and the fans would hope they recover from this soon.