South Africa has forever been labeled a choker, especially when it comes to the team’s performances in the ICC ODI World Cups. Despite having some quality players over the past years, they have been unable to lift the trophy even once.
South Africa put up a forgettable performance in the last edition as they managed to win just 3 of the 9 matches played during the group stages. As a result, they finished a disappointing 7th on the points table and failed to qualify for the knockout stages.
The team has seen plenty of changes in the past 4 years and just 7 of the 15-member squad announced has played in a World Cup before this. Let us have a look at the squad and know some of the strengths and weaknesses of this squad.
Batsmen
Temba Bavuma (C)
Aiden Markram
David Miller
Rassie van der Dussen
Reeza Hendricks
Wicket-keeper
Quinton de Kock
Heinrich Klaasen
All-rounders
Marco Jansen
Bowlers
Keshav Maharaj
Tabraiz Shamsi
Lungi Ngidi
Kagiso Rabada
Anrich Nortje
Gerald Coetzee
Sisanda Magala
The batting at the top will be one of the biggest strengths for South Africa in this tournament. Temba Bavuma, who will be leading the team, is in brilliant form with the bat and will likely open the batting with De Kock. Following them will be the likes of Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller.
All of them are good strikers of the cricket ball and have a good temperament too.
With such a power-packed batting line-up, South Africa has a good chance of posting match-winning totals. Many of the batsmen, including Miller, Klaasen, and De Kock have been regulars in the IPL and are well-versed in the Indian conditions, which can be a big advantage.
Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj have been included in the squad as full-time spinners. They have done well in the recent past and along with Aiden Markram, can be quite effective on the slower pitches.
While South Africa does have two experienced seamers in the form of Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, the other seamers, including Gerald Coetzee, Anrich Nortje, Sisanda Magala, and Marco Jansen are relatively inexperienced and may crumble under pressure, especially while facing a quality batting unit.
Also, barring Aiden Markram, the team lacks reliable batting all-rounders lower down the order. Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen are capable of playing some lofty shots but they cannot be relied upon to play a long inning.
7-10-23 SA vs Sri Lanka Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi
12-10-23 SA vs Australia Ekana Stadium, Lucknow
17-10-23 SA vs Netherlands HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala
21-10-23 SA vs England Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
24-10-23 SA vs Bangladesh Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
27-10-23 SA vs Pakistan MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
1-11-23 SA vs New Zealand MCA Stadium, Pune
5-11-23 SA vs India Eden Gardens, Kolkata
10-11-23 SA vs Afghanistan Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Out of the 9 scheduled matches, South Africa will play in three venues (Delhi, Lucknow, Chennai) that can be characterized as being traditionally spin-friendly. This is where the South African batting could be tested and players like Henrich Klaasen will need to step up.
Dharamshala and Kolkata will allow its fast-bowling resources to come to the fore while Mumbai and Ahmedabad will really bring it batting depth and power game into play.
Overall, we think South Africa will be happy with its choice of venues. We see its match against Sri Lanka in Delhi as being a potentially slippery one.
Injury updates
Keshav Maharaj and Sisanda Magala have been suffering from some niggles but seem to have recovered as they have been bowling in the ongoing series against Australia. Anrich Nortje has recently suffered from back spasms but should be fine in time for the World Cup.
Top run-scorer for SA in 2023
Temba Bavuma is in brilliant form with the bat this year and we expect him to lead his team from the front. Bavuma has scored 637 runs in his last 9 innings at an average of 91.00.
Top wicket-taker for SA in 2023
Sisanda Magala has bowled well for South Africa this year. He has picked up 12 wickets in 5 matches so far at an impressive strike rate of 17.50. His economy rate is decent too, at 5.77 runs per over.
Top run-scorer: Heinrich Klaasen
Klaasen is a quality batsman for South Africa in the middle order. Starting under the shadows of Quinton de Kock, Klaasen has carved a niche for himself and has been quite impressive with his batting skills. Klaasen has been featuring in the IPL for a few years now and the last season saw him score 448 runs at an average of close to 50. He knows the conditions in India well and we are therefore backing him to be the top run-getter for South Africa in this tournament.
Top wicket-taker: Kagiso Rabada
Rabada is South Africa’s most experienced seamer for this tournament. He has been a consistent performer with the new ball as well as towards the death. His ODI record in India is pretty good too, picking up 13 wickets in 7 innings. He has a great chance of bowling well here.
