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Even if you were the second best, it still stinks to be second. After finishing second in the last three championships, it hurts to finish second again. It stinks to come in second because you eventually believe you’ve done enough to take first place. And this time, South Africa was at that stage.
South Africa might not have a better chance to win a World Cup as England, India, and the reigning champion Australia have already been eliminated. With due respect to the resolute New Zealand team, South Africa seemed to be the more formidable, potentially endowed with superior resources, and more established team based on their pre-tournament form and semi-final performance. And it appeared as though they were at a loss for what to do when they got to that moment.
They lacked something in the field, as South Africans so sometimes do, notwithstanding Paul Adams’ inspirational address before the play, which included an overhead photo of the Arc de Triomphe to promote patriotism and signify a focal place at which individuals from all paths must meet. Their body language, which included slumped shoulders and strained brows, did not convey that they were seizing the opportunity as they had rightfully deserved. They lacked dynamism and passion. South Africa was playing their traditional style of cricket, letting the opponent set the pace of play.
They were shocked by New Zealand’s daring Powerplay strategy and had their plans derailed. Marizanne Kapp was particularly expensive, even though Ayabonga Khaka claimed an early wicket. She bowled only two overs upfront, instead of the three overs she has been assigned for the majority of this tournament. South Africa found itself reacting rather than leading after New Zealand’s announcement that it was coming out “with real intent caught us on the back foot a little bit,” as a stoic Wolvaardt later admitted. “We thought we could sort of ride it out, hopefully take a wicket or two, but they just kept going.”
South Africa had begun to recover after New Zealand had reached 70 for 3 in the eleventh over, but they never appeared to be in control. Consequently, New Zealand emerged as the first side in this tournament to highlight South Africa’s vulnerability by failing to choose a fifth first-choice fifth bowler. They destroyed South Africa’s death-bowling strategy by taking Nadine de Klerk and Sune Luus for 34 runs in just four overs combined, and in their last overs, they thoroughly destroyed Nonkululeko Mlaba and Khaka. “They had a really good last five or six overs where they really pushed that run-rate and we were perhaps a bit off.”
That explains, in part, why South Africa displayed an uncharacteristic lack of discipline by sending down 10 wides and 3 no-balls. They also bowled two extra overs, which is irresponsible in any game, let alone a final. Even though they did not give up any chances, a trait of this tournament, until the very last ball of the innings, there were enough fielding errors to give New Zealand the courage to take them on and turn one-ball matches into twos. In the end, that meant that the 140-run mark that South Africa had hoped to chase was increased by nearly 20 runs. The match was lost there.
It was a bit easier to take the setback, in a way, because this one did not have the horrific last-ball anguish of the men’s T20 World Cup final in June, which went down to the very last over, or the certainty of Australia winning, as happened in February of last year. This time, South Africa had the majority of the second inning to come to terms with the truth that they had lost the World Cup. Despite a strong Powerplay from Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt in particular, South Africa’s middle order struggled during this event since they had never been put under pressure. South Africa will need to deal with that in the future.
Right now, all that’s left is the recognisable void left by yet another trophy that was taken by someone else during a period that South Africa thought was theirs. This time, like the last time and the one before that, it felt like “the curse of not winning a World Cup,” as interim coach Dillon du Preez phrased it, was going to be broken. They say it so much that it seems absurd to keep at it. The crew also sensed that, which led to their own expectations that were probably detrimental rather than beneficial. While describing her parents as “more sad than I did, which is a bit heartbreaking,” Wolvaardt also says a great deal about the ongoing external pressures the team is subjected to. She’s seen the lighter side, at least.
Wolvaardt’s statements highlight how ridiculous some of our sport’s superstitions may be, despite the fact that some individuals cling to them when they are all they have. The harsh reality will always triumph over emotional attachments, and the fact is that South Africa’s performance in the game that counted most was subpar. “To play one of our worst games in the tournament in the final is a bit disappointing,” Wolvaardt stated.
Given that they had at least one ODI World Cup under their belts, South Africans may have needed this more than Kiwis. Since South Africa struggles with poverty, crime, corruption, and other issues, it could be argued that its people need optimism more than those in New Zealand, whose nation ranks among the top 10 in the world for living standards. However, South Africans are also adept at moving on and will do so without delay, having learnt from experience. After the tears subside, they will recognise that they will have another opportunity to travel to India for the ODI World Cup in less than a year, and they will, as South Africans always do.