The series of events is all too familiar to get excited over.
The national cricket team is seemingly on song ahead of another World Cup and they are beating almost everything that comes in front of them. At the time of writing, they lead 2-0 in the five-match T20 series against India, having won the first two matches comfortably.
On both occasions, they made light work of the run chases – reaching the modest 149-run target with all of 10 balls to spare in Sunday’s 4-wicket win in Cuttack, after having won by 7 wickets, chasing a massive 212 three days prior.
The numbers make for compelling reading, not to mention the individual scores. Wicket-keeper/batsman Heinrich Klaasen scored 81 off just 46 balls in Cuttack, just days after Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller’s fourth-wicket partnership of 131 that made chasing 200-plus in the Indian conditions look like a walk in the park.
That’s good and well.
Also read: The Easterns KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial Festival is back after a long halt in play
But I’m slightly concerned about this possibly being a case of peaking at the wrong time. This year’s T20 World Cup in Australia is scheduled for October and November, and the Proteas are already looking like they can’t play any better than they are at the moment.
Not trying to suggest that they should lay down and allow India to win but, as the saying goes in the sports circles, you learn more from losing than you do from winning. That was certainly evident last year, where being made to look like amateurs by a touring Pakistan early in the year prepared them well for the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Mark Boucher’s side only missed out on a semi-final spot at that tournament due to an inferior net run rate – the football equivalent of goal difference – to that of both Australia and England, that made the semi-finals from that pool.
Also read: Khunu on Sports
From that, you could tell that the team had gained some invaluable lessons from playing against a top limited-overs side such as Pakistan. Of course, that was not the only thing that had helped their performances at the tournament, but it’s undeniable that it had a lot to do with it.
But the team had a different start to this year, brushing aside India 3-0 in the One-Day International (ODI) series when they were in South Africa in January, which was to a large degree unexpected because of the strength of the Indians in all three formats of the game.
It’s encouraging to see how this team keeps improving, and winning is a habit, they say. But may we, as supporters, not fall into the trap of thinking that their current form, therefore, means inevitable success at the World Cup.
The world’s biggest stage and bilateral tours are not the same things and so failing again to win this year’s tournament won’t make the Proteas chokers!
Follow us on: 
