South Africa, Chokers or Champions? – A Comprehensive Analysis

SWOT analysis of South Africa for World Cup 2015

South Africa’s 15 man squad for the world cup:

AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla (vice-captain), Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn

Strengths

South Africa, with the kind of team that they have, look the strongest on paper. With batsmen like AB De Villiers, Hashim Amla, Faf Du Plesis, and bowlers like Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander this team looks the best and most suited for the conditions.

Hashim Amla has been like the foundation of the South African batting. He has been scoring runs for fun, and that too in all conditions, be it in Australia, India or England. He is the fastest to reach 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 runs. 2014 has been a great year for him scoring 892 runs in 18 matches at an average of over 50. A lot will depend on him to provide good starts to SA in the world cup.

Whatever I say would be less for AB De Villiers. He is just spectacular to watch. His biggest strength is he is very unorthodox and scores runs all around the ground. With this kind of batting, he unsettles the bowlers and takes them apart. In 2014, he has 879 runs in 16 matches at an average of 73 and a strike rate of 114. Recently, he scored the fastest century of just 31 balls. He will be the player to watch in the world cup.

South Africa’s bowling lies in the hands of Steyn and Morkel who will be the spearheads. The conditions would suit their kind of bowling styles. 2014 was a good year for both of them taking 22 and 24 wickets respectively from 14 matches.

Weakness

There is no weakness as such of South Africa. But SA should not be overly dependent on AB and Amla. Also, Imran Tahir is not consistent. He can go for runs if he is put under pressure. Their lower middle order is vulnerable due to absence of experience.

Opportunities

Though South Africa hve always been the favourites, but they fail to perform at the highest level and hence are called Chokers. SA made their debut in 1992 world cup in which they reached the semi-finals and since then they have always been the front runners. But they have been unable to perform in pressure situations. It’s an excellent opportunity for them to remove the Chokers tag. Also, the youngsters like Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw need to step up and show that they can play on the big stage.

Threats

Complacency is treacherous, for it can script decline like none other. And complacency is precisely what South Africa needs to be wary about. Also, Tahir can be vulnerability sometimes as he can go for runs and make life difficult for SA in the middle overs. This team has everything to go the distance. Let’s see if they can do it this time.