Members of the Proteas team celebrate their T20 World Cup semi-final victory over Afghanistan. Whether they win or lose against India in the final in Bridgetown on Saturday, it will not change the fact that the Proteas have already taken those nasty labels and kicked them to the curb. Picture: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images
It’s no secret that the Proteas team are known for buckling, or choking as some would call it, under pressure in Cricket World Cups.
For the longest time - the better part of 30 years - that was mostly true. But, no longer. For this Proteas cricket team led by Aiden Markram at the T20 World Cup have already shown they have the mental strength to overcome any perilous situation.
Though they lost against India in the final in Bridgetown on Saturday, it did not change the fact that the Proteas have already taken those nasty labels and kicked them to the curb.
In seven of the eight games they’ve played at this Cricket World Cup, the Proteas were able to safely negotiate their way through high intensity moments and come away victorious.
Though there would have been significant expectations on the shoulders of the Proteas to beat Afghanistan in their semi-final, they eliminated any thought of nerves as they were ruthlessly dominant from the start.
Bowling out Afghanistan for 56 and then knocking off the runs inside nine overs with one wicket down was as comprehensive a performance you could ever hope for in a semi-final.
It served to demonstrate the abilities of this current team and how they have already grown as competitors in this single World Cup alone.
Many times in this World Cup, the Proteas have not been even close to their best but they continued to churn out the results.
To be critical, many would consider these types of performances completely out of character. That’s because in every Cricket World Cup South Africa have played since 1992, they have mostly flattered to deceive.
Though on occasion they were not considered title contenders, like in 1992 when silly rain rules before the introduction of the DLS method meant they were denied a chance to have a shot at making it to the final.
In that tournament, South Africa could hardly be blamed for their loss as they needed 22 runs off 13 balls against England in their semi-final. After a rain interruption, South Africa were forced to conclude the match still needing 22 runs, but off just one ball. It was a farce, and South Africa could have nothing but bitter feelings about how the match ended.
That disappointment undeniably served to increase the expectations on future teams, and possibly the best opportunity for an SA team to put things right came in 1999.
The scene of Australia’s wild celebrations after they tied with South Africa on that fateful day at Edgbaston to secure their passage to the final, is one that will live on in the memory of South African players and fans.
That team boasted some of the biggest names in SA cricket - Herschelle Gibbs, Hansie Cronje, Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Lance Klusener and Allan Donald.
Still, with player of the tournament Klusener at the crease South Africa came up short - and one agonising run to boot.
That was the true birth of the chokers tag. Many more talented players would emerge for South Africa in the following years, like Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada and Aiden Markram.
Yet none of them would be able to change South Africa’s fortunes.
De Kock arrived on the Proteas scene in 2013 and has been a fixture ever since. He has been part of more than a few catastrophic defeats for the Proteas in World Cups.
The biggest of those was probably in 2015 when South Africa lost to New Zealand off the penultimate ball of their semi-final as Steyn was carted over his head for six to see the Proteas crash out once more.
Flash forward to this World Cup, and by all accounts it seems like a different team - even though a number of players like De Kock, Miller, Markram and Heinrich Klaasen have been part of unsuccessful Proteas teams at the big events.
The way those players, and some of the new ones like Marco Jansen and Tristan Stubbs have performed under the pump this year has been truly remarkable.
It seems an age ago already that the Proteas won close encounters against Bangladesh (four-run win), Netherlands (by four wickets with seven balls to spare), Bangladesh (four-run win) and their incredible one-run victory over minnows Nepal.
Not even South Africa’s biggest critic would have expected Nepal to be a match for the Proteas. However, they were somehow able to hold their nerve there and dispatch their less-fancied opponents.
And so it continued into the Super Eight where more parts of the Proteas game seemed to come together, as they were more convincing in an 18-run win over tournament hosts USA.
Though their next two games, against England and West Indies were both more nerve-racking victories, they again somehow managed to get over the line regardless of the situation.
That’s something the Springboks managed to pull off every week during the knockout stages at last year’s Rugby World Cup on their way to defending their crown.
The Springboks also famously spoke about nerves, saying they’re not under pressure to play rugby but instead it’s a privilege.
The real pressure is on the impoverished South Africans trying to make ends meet and provide for their family. And it’s a philosophy that’s clearly worked.
It appears then that the Proteas have been in touch with the Springboks, and though they weren't able to overcome India in the final - it was still a massive step forward for South African cricket.
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