South Africa’s World Cup ambitions were dashed by sloppy bowling and hesitant batting, which marked the end of Mark Boucher’s coaching tenure.
Call it what you want, but when the situation demanded a competent performance from South Africa, their standards plummeted, and another ICC tournament was relegated to the trash.
The Dutch have much to be commended for. Given the sophistication and experience of the Proteas attack, nobody could have imagined that they would defeat South Africa in bowling. However, Kagiso Rabada faltered once more and capitulated in the face of an early assault from Stephan Myburgh, who smashed him for three boundaries in his first over.
A brilliant performance with both bat and ball 👏
Colin Ackermann is the @aramco POTM from #SAvNED 👏 #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/Z3pIR1JA38
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) November 6, 2022
The Dutch scored 20 fours in their innings, seven of which were off Rabada’s bowling, while the Proteas could only manage 12. It was a clear representation of both parties’ intentions. With the exception of Anrich Nortje, South Africa struggled with their lengths and bowled too short, and when they attempted to alter, the wider lengths were simply too easily hittable.
South Africa regained some control of the Dutch innings thanks to Nortje, who finished with 1/10 from four overs, but then Rabada and Wayne Parnell conceded 31 runs off the final two overs. Three of the boundaries off Rabada’s bowling were the result of innovative strokeplay from Dutch captain Scott Edwards, while Parnell’s former teammate Colin Ackerman smashed the left-arm seamer for two sixes in the final over.
🚨 RESULT | NETHERLANDS WON BY 13 RUNS
The Netherlands’ bowlers came up with the goods as they held their nerve to claim the win#SAvNED #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/v0rqyhKNLf
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) November 6, 2022
The early dismissal of Quinton de Kock provided the Dutch a boost in the field, and before the end of the power play, the Proteas also lost captain Temba Bavuma for 20 runs per over.
The Dutch deftly bowled into the pitch and varied their pace, preventing the South African batsmen from releasing their arms and limiting the number of boundaries. As the strain mounted, wickets fell at regular intervals after the power play.
Anrich Nortje produced the most economical bowling spell in the Super 12 stage of #T20WorldCup 2022 🙌#SAvNED | 📝 https://t.co/uV2K8BEShf pic.twitter.com/AmdUcS5reb
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) November 6, 2022
In the 16th over, with 47 runs required off 29 balls, David Miller edged Brandon Glover towards short fine leg, where Roelof van der Merwe sprinted back, dove, and caught the ball millimeters above the ground as it crashed onto his shoulder. His celebrations were as exuberant as ever; the Dutch went crazy, as did the Pakistani and Bangladeshi fans who had begun assembling in the stands prior to their teams’ match, which is now a virtual quarterfinal.
The remaining Proteas withered. Another ICC tournament has concluded, and South Africa has once again found a way to withdraw despite the fact that, on this occasion, circumstances appeared to be in their favor.
“It wasn’t good enough,” stated the captain of the team, Bavuma. This is a gross understatement.