Australia v South Africa 2014: South African media wary of disastrous World Cup history
THE World Cup is still three months away, but the dreaded ‘c’ word is already starting to enter most conversations about South Africa.
THE World Cup is still three months away, but the dreaded ‘c’ word is already starting to enter most conversations about South Africa.
The ‘c’ word being choke, of course.
As in, will South Africa choke again at the World Cup?
All signs are pointing towards no, and yet there is a distinct fear of history repeating itself in much of the discourse coming out of the South African media ahead of the one-day series against Australia, which starts in Perth on Friday.
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Writing for South Africa’s Sunday Times, Telford Vice confronted the nagging matter head on.
“Six World Cups. No trophies. That’s an unhappy scoreline whichever way you spin it, especially in a country where the rugby team have twice won their version of that title and even the mediocre football team once got off their backsides well enough to win something in the shape of the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations,” Vice wrote.
“The pressure that comes with living with that truth – there are no harsh truths, only truths – has unscrewed SA’s courage from its sticking place too many times.”
But Vice prefers to put a positive spin on how history will affect the Proteas’ future, insisting the T20 series and the upcoming one-dayers are a chance for the South Africans to tackle their demons before the real deal hits them next year.
“SA should heap as much pressure as they can stand on themselves to win their T20s, and convincingly – all the better to arrive at the World Cup not knowing how to blink when the going gets tough,” Vice wrote.
Star batsman Faf du Plessis was rested from the T20 series but penned a column for the SuperSport website before joining his teammates in Australia.
In the column, du Plessis said the Proteas could take some crucial lessons from the T20 series and apply them at the World Cup in a few months’ time.
“They would have learnt that consistency is something to strive for, and that’s across all the disciplines,” du Plessis wrote.
“Consistency is something we’ve worked hard on in the national squad, and it’s only come about through experience and understanding how to learn from past mistakes.
“Now we have a big five-match ODI series ahead, and I think what you’ll see is a huge step up in intensity, with both teams welcoming back key players who were rested. The Aussies will be really strong in their home conditions, but we will also welcome back some of our big players.
“I think both teams will mean business, and it’s even more important due to the World Cup taking place in Australia and New Zealand in just a couple of months’ time.
“From a confidence point of view, it would be fantastic to come away with a positive result. A series win would be first prize, and this is another big step in our World Cup preparation.”
But not everyone was putting such a positive spin on the 2-1 series loss.
Firdose Moonda used her series wrap for Cricinfo to point out a major deficiency that had been exposed in the T20 matches, and could well be an issue come World Cup time.
“They squandered a series lead thanks to a soft underbelly - the same problem which occasionally pops up to handicap the senior side as well - which points to concerns in the batting depth,” Moonda wrote.
Former Australia and South Africa Test player Kepler Wessels used his SuperSport column to remind the Proteas that sometimes it isn’t just about taking things one game, one week or even one series at a time.
In a World Cup year, every game is a chance to gain a crucial edge over your opponents.
“As far as the Proteas are concerned, now is a good time to dominate the home team and establish mental ascendancy before the World Cup even starts,” Wessels wrote
Originally published as Australia v South Africa 2014: South African media wary of disastrous World Cup history