As the ICC Champions Trophy event nears its February 19 start, the inevitable questions surrounding the Proteas will begin to resurface.
The main question, of course, is will the Proteas go all the way this time?
At every major ICC event for senior men’s SA sides, the answer to that question has an emphatic ‘no’, except for one occasion back in 1998.
It will be the first time the tournament has been hosted since 2017, and it remains the only ICC senior men’s trophy that the Proteas have lifted. South Africa won the inaugural event 27 years ago, and perhaps the class of 2025 will fancy their chances at rekindling some of their former glory.
Pressure
Standing in the Proteas way though, besides everybody else, will be themselves.
Just last year, during the T20 World Cup, there was renewed hope that this Proteas side would not only be the first to make a Cricket World Cup final, but also walk away with the crown.
As it turned out, Proteas fans would have to be content with a silver medal as they stumbled at the final hurdle.
South Africa were beaten by seven runs by India in the trophy match in Bridgetown on June 29. It was the only defeat of the tournament for the Proteas, after eight wins on the trot led them to the final.
While ardent fans will recite like parrots that the Proteas failed after needing 30 off 30 with six wickets in hand to win their first-ever Cricket World Cup title, and therefore it was a choke, there’s a lot more to it than that.
Still, it was further than the men’s Proteas team had ever made it before and that was significant progress.
Since the T20 World Cup, limited over coach Rob Walter has experimented with his squads in a big way. The approach has yielded mixed results with a One-Day International (ODI) series defeat to Afghanistan, a drawn T20I series with Ireland away from home. There was also the 3-0 T20I series whitewash they suffered against the West Indies after the World Cup which also stung.
More recently, the Proteas hosted Pakistan in a three-match ODI series as South Africa crashed to a 3-0 defeat.
While players like David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen continue to form part of a formidable core of the batting lineup, it’s been good to see players like Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen producing on a more consistent basis as their place in the team seems set in stone for years to come.
Most of the squad that represented SA at the T20 World Cup will once again do duty at the Champions Trophy. Skipper Temba Bavuma will be hungry for a first piece of ICC silverware in limited overs cricket for the senior men’s side in 27 years, and in players like Klaasen, Miller, Stubbs, Jansen and Kagiso Rabada there are a number of match-winners.
Proteas squad for Champions Trophy: Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen.