Over the years, South Africa has earned an unwanted reputation in cricketing terms. They have been widely known as the chokers of the game after a series of poor results in global tournaments.
Somehow, South African teams in the past have managed to conjure up defeat from winning positions. As a result, there is little interest in the team as they prepare for this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
After a strong showing away from home against England, could this be the time that South Africa finally enjoy success in the biggest competitions of all?
England Swept Aside
The South Africans travelled to meet a strong England side and the hosts were expected to win both the ODI and the T20i series. England are 50-over World Champions and they reached the semifinals of the T20 World Cup when it was last held in 2021.
The English had lost their influential skipper Eoin Morgan but remained favourites under new captain Jos Buttler. Things didn’t quite go to plan. The ODI leg of the tour finished with a 1-1 scoreline after rain ruined any chance of a result in the deciding game.
When the teams assembled for three T20 internationals, South Africa claimed the series 2-1 after coming back from a defeat in the first game. The team were solid in all departments. The key batters delivered runs throughout the order while the pacemen and the spinners also did their job.
It was an impressive all-round display and one that saw South Africa suddenly mentioned as potential World Cup winners. There were isolated reports suggesting that the team could go all the way at the T20 event but is that the majority view?
How will South Africa Perform at the T20 World Cup?
The sportsbooks can always be relied upon to deliver an independent assessment. Markets for the winner of the 2022 World Cup have been in place for some time and those betting companies linked to SBO are showing India, England and Australia as the three joint favourites.
Next up are 2021’s beaten finalists New Zealand while Pakistan are marginally further back. Finally, we come to South Africa who are relatively distant sixth favourites to win the trophy in Australia later this year.
It’s not the most positive endorsement but those figures are subject to change. As more results come in, the market can adjust and SBO will pass on the new pricing structure to their readers.
It’s also possible to take in breaking news and opinion stories before getting directly involved with the World Cup betting. Each of the bookmakers on the recommended panel will be set up to accept new customers.
Subject to eligibility requirements and a completed online form, many of those operators will have a generous welcome package waiting on the other side. There are different funding options which will help when it comes to adding a deposit, while customer services can iron out any queries.
Once playing regularly, customers may also be able to look forward to ongoing promotions, mobile betting and the possibility of live streaming top class cricket action. In short, it’s up among the best sites to follow for cricket betting but who are the men who could steer South Africa to World Cup glory?
Key Players
Reeza Hendricks was the highest run scorer in the T20 series between South Africa and England. He delivered 180 vital runs across the three games. Rilee Roussow also enjoyed a productive campaign, scoring a T20 international best of 96 along the way.
Tristan Stubbs underlined his great potential in the first match but Cricket South Africa would have wanted to see more runs from the established batters Quinton de Kock and David Miller.
In the bowling department, Tabraiz Shamsi’s left arm wrist spin claimed the most wickets with eight victims across the three games. There were useful contributions too from Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo and Keshav Maharaj.
With the pacemen Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje to come back into the side, South Africa’s attack is looking strong. While some of the key batters may have underperformed in that T20 series with England, the team is in a good place and very few would rule them out of contention when the World Cup returns later this year.
