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South Africa bowed out of the T20 World Cup on Wednesday as they were comprehensively outplayed by New Zealand, for whom Finn Allen scored the fastest ever World Cup century.
While the loss is obviously very disappointing, fans should avoid being too hard on the Proteas. Ranked fifth in the world, by making the semi-finals Aiden Markram’s side effectively finished higher than their seed.
But having said that, when you have progressed through the tournament unbeaten and then you fall at the first knockout hurdle, it is really does hurt.
While the semi-final defeat is hard to take, there were undoubtedly some excellent performances delivered by the Proteas over their seven-game run in the competition.
Let’s take a moment to look at each players report card. Who shone and where is there room for improvement.
Aiden Markram: 9/10
The Proteas captain led from the front and bows out of the competition as the team’s leading scorer – and the fourth highest overall in the competition.
His knock against New Zealand in pool play was probably the standout moment, but he will obviously be disappointed that he couldn’t repeat it again the second time the sides met.
Overall Markram contributed 286 runs with a high score of 86* and an average of 47.66. He chipped in with the ball as well while his captaincy was also excellent.
He ran out of ideas in the semi but before that he looked like he had all the answers.
Corbin Bosch: 8/10
Less than 18 months ago Bosch had never played for the Proteas, now he is one of their key players.
Useful with the bat and an excellent death-overs bowler, Bosch has seen his ranking shoot up 21 places on the ICC T20 bowler list (he is now in fourth place).
With 11 wickets at an average of 17.36 and an economy rate of 7.64, Bosch has plenty of positives to take away from the tournament.
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Dewald Brevis: 6/10
Brevis is a special talent, but you can’t help feeling that South Africa are not get their full value out of him yet.
The number four position is critical in T20 cricket and while Brevis looks solid there, he has yet to take a game by the scruff of the neck and give it a proper shake.
Brevis bows out from the tournament as the 13th highest scorer with 207 runs at an average of 29.57.
But a highest score of just 45 isn’t good enough for a number four – he needs to be passing 50 with a degree of regularity if he is to dominate innings. Is number four the best place for him? Without a doubt. Expect him to grow into the role.
Quinton de Kock: 5/10
The reborn De Kock blazed his way into the tournament like a comet, but he faded as things wore on. While he finished as the tournament’s 19th highest scorer his average of just 22.62 was a disappointment.
As the tournament moved towards its business end, he registered just one score of substance in the last five games, a knock of 47 against the West Indies.
His dismissal in the semi-final was poor, and it got the jitters going in the batters that followed. He will be disappointed not to have added more.
Marco Jansen: 9/10
Another player who still has a big future head of him, Jansen was clobbered to all parts of Eden Gardens in the semi-final. But Wednesday was not a reflection of his tournament where he did everything that was asked of him and more.
With just three opportunities to bat he ended with an average of 36.50 at a strike rate of 169.76. His undefeated 55 in the semi-final was crucial in giving the bowlers something to try and defend.
With the ball he bagged 11 wickets and was a constantly menacing presence with a strike rate of 12.36 (which was better than both Ngidi and Bosch).
George Linde: 7/10
Big George didn’t get too many opportunities as along with Anrich Nortje and Kwena Maphaka he tended to be used as the second-choice line-up.
But he let nobody down taking three wickets in as many games and keeping it tight throughout. He batted just once and made an undefeated 30 – it is hard to find fault with his performance.
Given his power-hitting ability and the fact that he is a few years younger than Keshav Maharaj, it might not be long before Linde is employed as the first-choice spinner.
Keshav Maharaj: 6/10
Maharaj is the ultimate team man – the way he embraced the challenge of bowling in the Super Over showdown with Afghanistan embodies that.
But he is getting on in years and while he is a wily bowler, he is not necessarily the ideal T20 player. With just five wickets from six games at an average of 35.80 and a strike rate of 25.2 he will be slightly disappointed with his return.
He went at over eight to the over as well. Three of those wickets all came in one over and were all destined for sixes until Tristan Stubbs intervened on the long off fence.
Kwena Maphaka: 5/10
The youngster had limited opportunity to make an impact playing in just two games. He went wicketless against the UAE before picking up two scalps in the dead rubber against Zimbabwe in the Super Eights.
More than anything Maphaka was there to learn. Still just 19 years old, Maphaka has many World Cups ahead of him where he will undoubtedly make bigger impacts.
David Miller: 8/10
One of the all-time Protea greats, Miller had a mixed tournament. He was immense in the Super Over game against Afghanistan and along with Bevis and Stubbs he led an incredible recovery against India.
A total of 174 runs at an average of 58.00 is an excellent return although he will be disappointed that he made cores of 22 and six in his last two games (against Zimbabwe and New Zealand),
Lungi Ngidi: 9/10
South Africa’s player of the tournament, Ngidi showed just how good he really is as claimed the mantle of South Africa’s premier white-ball bowler.
That’s a title that should have been bestowed on him a while back, but somehow it has proven hard for Ngidi to gain the recognition he deserves.
Ngidi ends the tournament with 12 wickets at an average of 15.58. While his best return was his excellent 4/31 against Canada, his best spell was almost certainly his effort of 0/15 from four against India.
Anrich Nortje: 7/10
When a team can have a player like Anrich Nortje as a second stringer you know how strong their bowling must be. Nortje played just twice, getting runs in the games against UAE and Zimbabwe.
He managed three wickets which is a solid return. He would have loved the opportunity to do more, but his role was always going to be as backup.
Kagiso Rabada: 4/10
It is not easy being a bowler in T20 where the margins for error are tiny. It’s why pace isn’t everything and guile and variations are so important.
Not that Rabada doesn’t have these, but he wasn’t able to make it happen in eth same way that his colleagues did. Rabada managed just five wickets all tournament, his scalps coming at an average of 43.40. his strike rate was 32.
None of those numbers stack up when compared to the likes of Ngidi, Bosch or Jansen.
His catastrophic final over against Afghanistan was almost a complete disaster and it spoke volumes that he wasn’t trusted to bowl in the Super Over showdown that followed his nightmare.
Having said that, he deserves praise for keeping his wits about him sufficiently top effect the narrowest of runouts in the Afghanistan game.
Ryan Rickelton: 8/10
He was out first ball in the semi-final, but before that Rickelton had been a standout for the Proteas.
Having failed to win selection to the initial squad, with Quinton de Kock usurping him at the top of the order (and behind the stumps), Rickelton appeared to catch a real wake up call.
He also seemed more comfortable batting at three than he did at the very top of the order.
Rickelton exits the tournament as the eighth highest scorer with 228 runs at an average of 32.57 and a highest score of 61. Only one South African batter scored more than Rickelton, and that was skipper Aiden Markram.
Jason Smith: 5/10
When he was first selected to the squad there were many people who were surprised – especially given that he was picked ahead of both Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs.
But Shukri Conrad bigged him up and there was plenty expected from the Wynberg Boys High product.
But chances were limited for Smith, who was afforded just a single game – against UAE. He did all that was asked of him ending undefeated on three. Aside from that he was a good teammate.
He didn’t do anything wrong, but unfortunately for him he never really got a chance to do anything.
Tristan Stubbs: 8/10
Like Rickelton, Stubbs appears to have benefitted by being dropped from the initial squad. He bounced back well and seems to have found his place as the second finisher (the reserve chute in case David Miller fails).
Stubbs showed his worth in the Super Over triumph over Afghanistan, holding his nerve to hit the crucial six that sent the tiebreaker into a second round.
He also weighed in with a host of useful knocks, not least of all the rescue acts against India and New Zealand. He held a bucketload of catches too. Stubbs heads home with an average of 67.50 from his six innings (he was not out four times).
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The post Every South Africa player rated as their T20 World Cup campaign ends appeared first on Cricket365.
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