Despite the belief that winning the World Test Championship would help, the Proteas’ T20 World Cup campaign ended in a semi-final defeat to New Zealand, highlighting the disconnect between Test success and limited-overs performance. Picture: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP
Image: DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP
Once again, a Cricket World Cup has come and gone, and South Africa had to be content with strong performances but no new silverware.
Leading up to the T20 World Cup, there was plenty of talk (from pundits and players) that the Proteas winning the World Test Championship (WTC) would help them in their search for limited-overs glory.
Ultimately, South Africa were thumped by New Zealand in the semi-final last week.
Though it certainly was no choke as they did not come close to winning a position against the Kiwis, the net result was the same.
The Proteas have traditionally been a strong Test-playing nation since readmission, always able to compete and beat the best in the world. This was especially true under Graeme Smith, who led the side to series victories in England and Australia.
Most notably, Smith led the team to the number one ranking in 2012 when South Africa was awarded the ICC Test mace.
That’s the equivalent of winning the WTC, which the Proteas did under Temba Bavuma last year, beating Australia in the final at Lord’s.
The victory was widely hailed as South Africa’s first ICC trophy, and while technically true, that’s not actually the case since Smith’s side achieved the same feat.
What all this means is that success in the longest format is something the Proteas are well-accustomed to achieving.
Therefore, trying to conflate their red-ball success into confidence in limited overs is something of a stretch.
You might as well say the Springboks winning the Rugby World Cup will translate to similar achievements on the cricket field. That’s just not how it works. What is far more relevant is the performances of the Proteas during the recently completed SA20.
That translated to an impressive run of victories during the group stages and Super Eights, but certainly didn’t warrant Cricket South Africa opening its trophy cabinet.
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