They were arguably favourites for the first time in an ICC final, but that second-place feeling was as acute as ever
Firdose Moonda20-Oct-2024Second sucks. That’s it. That’s the tweet, as they say.Second sucks even if you know you were second-best. Second sucks when you’ve been second three times in the last three finals. Second sucks because, at some point, you think you’ve done enough to finish first. And South Africa were at that point this time.With England and India out of the way and defending champions Australia knocked out by their own hands, South Africa may never have a better chance to win a World Cup. No disrespect to a determined New Zealand outfit but, on pre-tournament form and semi-final performance, South Africa appeared to be the stronger and potentially better resourced and more settled side. They found themselves in the unusual position of being favourites in a final for the first time, and it seemed as though they did not know what to do with that.Despite Paul Adams’ motivational speech before play, complete with an aerial picture of the Arc de Triomphe to inspire patriotism and symbolise a central point at which people from many paths must meet, they lacked something in the field, as South Africans so often do. They lacked zip and intensity, their body language of furrowed brows and sometimes hunched shoulders did not suggest they were owning their moment as they had earned the right to. South Africa were doing that old South African cricket thing and allowing the opposition to dictate the run of play.They were taken aback by New Zealand’s fearless approach in the Powerplay and were hit off their plans. Marizanne Kapp bowled only two overs upfront, rather than usual three she has been tasked with through most of this tournament and though Ayabonga Khaka took an early wicket, she was unusually expensive. A stoic Wolvaardt later acknowledged that New Zealand’s coming out “with real intent caught us on the back foot a little bit,” and so South Africa found themselves reacting and not directing. “We thought we could sort of ride it out, hopefully take a wicket or two, but they just kept going.”With New Zealand 70 for 3 in the 11th over, South Africa had started to pull things back but never looked in control. As a result, New Zealand became the first team at this tournament to expose South Africa’s weakness in not selecting a fifth first-choice fifth bowler. They took Nadine de Klerk and Sune Luus for 34 runs in four overs combined, wrecked South Africa’s death-bowling plans and took Nonkululeko Mlaba and Khaka apart in their final overs. “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 is one way of explaining how South Africa sent down 10 wides and three no-balls, which showed an unusual lack of discipline. It also meant that they bowled two extra overs, which is careless in any game not least a final. They did not shell any chances – which has been a feature of this tournament – until the very last ball of the innings, but there were enough fumbles in the field to gave New Zealand the confidence to take on their arms and turns ones into twos. Ultimately, that meant the target South Africa hoped they would chase, of around 140, became almost 20 runs greater. And there, the match was lost.South Africa had reason to believe at various stages of the tournament, and the final•AFP/Getty ImagesIn some ways, it made the defeat easier to accept because at least this one lacked the brutal last-ball agony of June’s men’s T20 World Cup final which went down to the final over, or the inevitability of Australia winning again, as was the case last February. This time, South Africa had most of the second innings to process the fact that the World Cup was not theirs. Though Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt, in particular, had a promising Powerplay, South Africa’s middle-order were untested in pressure situations at this tournament and fell away. That is something South Africa will have to address in the future.For now, there is just the familiar emptiness of another trophy that was won by someone else, at a time South Africa believed was theirs. They say it so often, it seems ridiculous to keep at it, but this time (just like last time and the time before that), it felt like “the curse of not winning a World Cup,” as interim coach Dillon du Preez put it, was going to be broken. And the team felt that too, which brought an expectation of its own that probably did more harm than good. Wolvaardt described her parents as looking “more sad than I did, which is a bit heartbreaking,” but also speaks volumes about the external pressures the team continues to face. At least, she could see the lighter side of it.Related
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“Before the game, we had a discussion that we really feel this is our year. A lot of people felt that way,” Wolvaardt said. “They had some aunt who had a feeling or had a funny tingling in their pinky finger that we were going to win. That just shows that mother cricket is always in charge and has bigger plans. You can never predict what’s going to happen or write any team off.”The words Wolvaardt used shine a light on how silly the superstitions of our sport can be, even as people hold on to them when it’s all they have. Gut feelings will always come up against the cold, hard reality and the truth is that South Africa did not bring their best game to the game that mattered most. “To play one of our worst games in the tournament in the final is a bit disappointing,” Wolvaardt said.Arguably, South Africans needed this more than New Zealanders, who at least have an ODI World Cup to their names. Arguably, South Africans, who battle poverty, crime, corruption and hardship are more in need of hope than New Zealanders, whose country is in the top 10 on global living standard indexes. But South Africans also know, from experience, how to move on, and they will do that quickly. Once the tears have dried, they will realise that, in just a year’s time, at the ODI World Cup in India, they will have the chance to go again and, as South Africans always do, they will.