With West Indies coming up on Monday, South Africa’s World Cup future is looking bleak.
South Africa’s national cricket team–affectionately known as the Proteas–are experiencing a dreadful start at the Cricket World Cup in England. The Proteas have lost all their opening matches.
The first loss came at the hands of tournament favorite and host, England. Then the Proteas went down to Bangladesh and India.
That 0-3 start comes as a shock. No reasonable analyst or fan thought that this team would be occupying the bottom of the table with Afghanistan. True, South Africa has never won the Cup, but trailing the field is beyond imagination.
And the challenge to win goes no easier. Tomorrow, Proteas face-off against West Indies. To win, South Africa will have to make plays and regain composure. Both deficiencies have haunted the Proteas thus far. Take, for instance, two plays against India. Faf du Plessis’ dropped catch of Shikhar Dhawan before the powerplay, and David Miller’s drop catch of Rohit Sharma later on in the processions, turned the game upside down.
With backs clearly against the wall, the Proteas must now go up against a West Indies team that’s blessed with batting prowess. There is absolutely no margin for error.
And the situation looks dire. South Africa went into the tournament with an injured Dayle Steyn. Now there is the just recovered back pain of Kagiso Rabada, and the team is without the services of the promising fast-paced bowler, Andrich Nortje, who didn’t make the squad due to a shoulder injury. Then there is Hashim’s head injury and Ngidi’s shoulder discomfort.
With distress everywhere, the Proteas’ Cup future will be written tomorrow.
