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SWOT Analysis of SOuth Africa (Source- Twitter)
The World Cup is just 24 hours away with all the 10 teams gearing up for the marquee event. On Wednesday, October 5, all the team captains are ready for the ‘Captain’s Corner’ event at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. South Africa always comes into the World Cup with a tag of dark horses. They are the most unfortunate teams when it comes to the marquee event.
They are called 'the chokers' of the game. Proteas have not reached beyond the semi-final, whether it is the Duck-Worth Lewis Stern method or choking themselves in the 1999 semi-final against Australia. They would like to forget their last edition of the World Cup, with just three out of nine games won, they finished in seventh place.
They are back to their full strength, overcoming injury all the issues. 8 of their 15 players announced for the World Cup will be playing their maiden World Cup. Skipper Temba Bavuma will himself playing his first World Cup. Anrich Nortje, their star pacer is missing out for the injury.
Strength
With batters like Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller, it will be their greatest strength in the World Cup. In 11 ODIs this year, Markram has scored 577 runs at a strike rate of 119.70 around an average of 65.00. All the batters are known decent against spin, which is a positive thing to succeed in middle overs in Indian conditions.
They have a formidable bowling department with two good spinners. Kagiso Rabada will lead the attack along with the likes of Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, and Marco Jansen. With their spinners like Keshav Maharaj and Tabriz Shamsi, they can create problems for the opponents.
Weakness
The team's main problem is they do not have good backups in their whole department. Proteas' only major area to focus on is the lack of backup middle-order batters. Their spinners in the subcontinent might be a problem as Shamsi's economy revolves around 11.12 in the one ODI match he played in India.
In the sub-continent, they failed to qualify for the semis. When the tournament was co-hosted by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, in 2011 the Proteas ended up at the top of the table in the group round. They lost to the West Indies in the quarter-finals.
Opportunities
They are not the favourites to win the trophy. This factor will help Bavuma and Co. to perform well without any pressure, in India. South Africa choked in crunch situations and lost the chance to grab the trophy. Another factor that makes them the dark horses in this World Cup is their players’ experience on Indian soil.
Threats
The Proteas are known for failing to hold their nerves in the major tournaments. In the 1996 World Cup, they lost to the West Indies. In 1999 they lost a winning match against Australia after tying the semi-final. Their biggest challenge in the upcoming competition will be to perform under pressure and not choke in pressure situations.