Reddened face, tears dripping from his eyes, sitting on the ground as if he had no desire to wake up and face the reality around him. Morne Morkel’s expression on the field encapsulated the emotions pulsating through the minds of the South Africa players and their heartbroken supporters as they were defeated in their semi-final against New Zealand.
Their prime fast bowler, Dale Steyn, stood stunned into submission and their usually optimistic, ever-positive captain, AB De Villiers, wore a look of unadulterated grief, his eyes welling with tears, tears reflecting the deep pain of missing out on a final he was so confident of reaching. Even Faf Du Plessis, the man who had worked tirelessly to rebuild the South African innings from 31-2, sat with his head bowed, unable to fathom that their side had failed at this hurdle.
The situation had looked significantly different in the 38th over of the South African batting innings. At the crease were the set Du Plessis and the chief destroyer, De Villiers, both beginning to play some magnificent shots to accelerate that run rate and hand New Zealand an almost impossible target of around 350 to chase. McCullum, for the first time this tournament, looked completely bereft of ideas in the field until came along the blessing New Zealand needed. Persistent rain pelted down for 90 minutes, stealing away South Africa’s momentum and crucially, seven of what would have essentially been high scoring overs. Yes, they did manage to post 281 (which was changed to 298 using the D/L method) thanks to a quick-fire 49 from Miller, but one could argue that had they been able to bat out their 50 overs, the kind of score they may have posted would have been far more daunting for the New Zealanders. McCullum’s honesty in the post match presentation stating that he had hoped it would “keep raining” proves the vital role rain played in halting South Africa’s charge.
Nevertheless, New Zealand had never accomplished a 298 chase against South Africa, even within 50 overs, so the Proteas must have felt that the game was still in their hands. One man though, with sheer determination and exceptional stroke play threatened to drag New Zealand into the final single-handedly. Brendon McCullum smashed 59 from just 26 balls, breaking the back of the chase and making the tasks of the batsmen to come so much simpler. When some abject running and cheap wickets lead New Zealand to 149-4, South Africa may have felt the momentum finally swinging back in their favour.
A 103-run partnership between Elliot and Anderson ensured that this was not the case. When both De Kock and De Villiers failed to complete run-outs they would usually finish with ease, South African supporters felt that gutting, disappointing emotion re-emerging—an emotion that they were, unfortunately, so familiar with. It was perhaps the Behardien-Duminy mix-up that was the final nail in the coffin though, a dropped catch that would have signaled the end of Elliot and brought a tail-ender to the crease. As it was, though, South African supporters were forced to watch Elliot superbly hit the penultimate ball for 6: a stunning shot that understandably sent New Zealanders into delirium.
Despite being a distraught South African myself, credit must be given to the Kiwis for how they constructed that chase. 298 was indeed a defendable target and questions must be asked of the South African bowlers, who had a particularly off day at the wrong time. Such an exquisitely assembled team with so many of the world’s best players were beaten by a classy outfit who, despite not having the best talent, possessed an unparalleled determination and grit to reach their first ever World Cup final.
As De Villiers pointed out in his press conference: “Life goes on,” and the South Africans will certainly move forward from this and hopefully, one day bring World Cup joy to a nation so starved of it. Unfortunately, with many of their best already in their thirties, it remains to be seen how many will stick around for 2019, a time when South Africa will surely try yet again to get rid of the World Cup sorrow that plagues them. See AB de Villiers’ message to South African cricket fans here.
