Can SA lure back Faf and win the ICC World Cup

Can South Africa win the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup?

The 2023 iteration of the Cricket World Cup is set to take place in India over October and November, with the competition bringing together the best players and teams in the world.

With 10 participating nations and 48 games, any side that has made it to the competition will fancy their chances of lifting the trophy in India.

Having secured their place at the tournament, can South Africa seriously challenge the biggest teams in the world at the end of 2023, or will they be left to rue what might have been after group-stage elimination?

According to the latest cricket betting odds, South Africa are only the sixth most likely winners behind India, England, Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand.

Heading into the tournament, South Africa have a three-match home T20 series against Australia before  taking on the same opponents in a five-game ODI series. This set of shorter format matches will give South Africa a good idea of where they are in comparison to another top team, while it will be a great chance to try to finalise their starting XI.

Their last two ODI matches came across March and April, with the Proteas easing to comfortable wins over the Netherlands.

In their first clash, Temba Bavuma starred with the bat as he notched 90 not out, while Tabraiz Shamsi and Sisanda Magala both picked up three wickets. In the second ODI, Aiden Markram (175) and David Miller (91) starred with the bat, while Magala (5/43) was scintillating with the ball.

While the Netherlands are not the best test of how good a team is, it is still a good chance to give the players the ability to go out an express themselves.

For Markram in the second ODI, he was able to build a score and give an explosive player like Miller the ability to come out and swat the ball to the boundary. This is important in a South African team that has three real anchors in the middle-order in Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen.

The trio will provide the foil for explosive players like Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma and David Miller to have the licence to go big. On the flip side of this, if De Kock and Bavuma go early, then South Africa know they have a number of players that can rebuild.

Having the ability to hit back from the back-foot is incredibly important as the temptation can be to fill a team with too many momentum players. This means that when things are going well, they play well, but when the team is under the boot, they don’t have the right tools to dig their side out.

With the ball in hand, Magala, Shamsi, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen all provide excellent wicket taking options. The South African attack is rich in variation, and this will be vital in India where the wicket will degrade as the match goes on.

Having spin bowling options, players that can bang the ball in hard and fast and those that keep the pressure on the batsman is crucial.

One area in which South Africa may look to really enhance their chances of winning is by luring Faf Du Plessis back into the side. The legend has been starring in the IPL with 631 runs from 12 innings for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and is the top scorer at the time of writing.

Du Plessis has remained available for the shorter formats of the game with South Africa but has been absent from the national team for some time. However, starring in the IPL with the bat and providing all that experience will hugely enhance South Africa’s chances of winning the competition in India.

With Du Plessis, South Africa have a good chance of making it to the knockout rounds, but they will likely struggle against the likes of India, England and Australia.

With Du Plessis in the side, perhaps having the maverick in the team could seriously enhance their chances of upsetting the odds in India this year.