2 min read
Introduction
I promise I’ll be one of the few people who won’t call call this team “chokers”. South Africa’s bowling lineup is impeccable and its batting shows a lot of promise. An array of quality all-rounders also helps its case.
Mihir’s SWOT Analysis
strengths
- A good all-round squad with majority of bases covered and addressed.
- For me, this World Cup is about which teams have a good bowling attack and South Africa is right up there with their seamers and spinners.
- Not only that, their bowlers are wicket-takers and match-winners and the bench they possess is equally strong as the expected starters – a good conundrum for the captain.
weaknesses
- The opening pair has been bit of a concern for some time now. However, if the words of Hashim Amla are to be believed, there is sunrise on the horizon.
-
- I don’t see any other apparent weakness in this team.
opportunities
- The splendid form of Faf du Plessis couldn’t have come at a better time. He is a vital cog in the South African batting wheel and the other batters have the perfect opportunity to form a solid batting lineup around him and complement the strong bowling lineup.
- I feel like it is a great opportunity for South Africa to leverage their all-round balance, the format of the tournament and the conditions (which demand for skilful bowlers) and materialise their aspirations (I won’t say what they are… *winks*)
threats
- Over-persistence with failures, as they have often been guilty of doing, won’t really help their case.
key player
Kagiso Rabada –> Who in their right mind would have though that a team whose bowling lineup contains Dale Steyn will be lid by a 24-year old youngster who’s played just half as many games as Dale Steyn!! Kagiso Rabada will undoubtedly be the leader of the attack and his skilful performance with the ball will be South Africa’s biggest asset.
prediction
South Africa is a very interesting prospect for me and I have a strong feeling that this team is going to make the top 4. They certainly have the team and the form to do it.
Roster
Schedule
You will definitely want to give these a try
-
ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 - EnglandThe 12th ICC Cricket World Cup is here and it is the 5th time it is being held in England. Despite arguments that the new format is commercial in nature and doesn’t make the World Cup seem like a “Cup of World Teams”, I’d say that the single round-robin format promises to make the World Cup even more exciting.
-
Afghanistan - Cricket World Cup 2019At the face of it, Afghanistan seems like a well-balanced team integrated by the isolated strengths in the various departments. To further elaborate that, take for example Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman; both excellent spinners on their own but in tandem, one doesn’t get a feeling of say Trent Boult and Tim Southee or Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. As Afghanistan gears up to play the big boys of cricket, it will be far-fetched to expect them to do…
-
Australia - Cricket World Cup 2019I for one have been surprised bye Australia’s resurgence in recent ODIs, opponents notwithstanding. I won’t lie, I was expecting a prolonged psychological dent into the Australian outfit with a slow resurgence but this has taken me by surprise. This has forced me to re-evaluate my stance on Australia for this World Cup.
-
Bangladesh - Cricket World Cup 2019Bangladesh have what many teams look for prior to a World Cup - stability in the playing XI composition. With all their stalwarts available, possibly for the last time in a World Cup, they have gone as far as to say that they are here to win the World Cup in 2019. I’ll surely be surprised if they do.
-
England - Cricket World Cup 2019Well, wouldn’t you like to be Eoin Morgan! A well-settled opening pair, a solid middle-order, an array of quality All Rounders, arguably the best ODI spinner in the world currently and more than handy crop of fast bowlers. The cherry on this cake - World Cup is in your backyard. The chocolate sauce on that cherry - the format calls for consistency, eliminates “flash-in-the-pan” advantage and allows for minor lapses.
-
India - Cricket World Cup 2019It was way back in the 1987 World Cup that India had the luxury of playing 2 quality of seam-bowling all-rounders. And 32 years on, they have the same luxury once again. In no way am I saying that Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar are the same as Kapil Dev and Roger Binny ( they can’t be as well; not yet.) Another interesting trivia is that the last time India went with 2 seam bowling all-rounders to England for a…
-
Pakistan - Cricket World Cup 2019If you look at Pakistan’s 15-man squad, you can easily determine that Pakistan has as many as 5 allrounders but lack someone you’d call a “genuine all-rounder”. It isn’t a problem if the lower middle-order batsman and bowlers compensate for that void but even that doesn’t seem to be the case for Pakistan. Such is the dynamics associated with their squad.
-
NewZealand - Cricket World Cup 2019NewZealand, as a team, always fly under the radar, coming into every world tournament. I don’t know if they actively do that or it just happens to them. Any way, those who can see it will surely say that NewZealand is a string team and they have managed to pick a team which will be able to cause some jitters to a lot of predictions.
-
Srilanka - Cricket World Cup 2019Srilanka is anything but in contention for a top 4 spot in this World Cup, and their squad doesn’t paint a happy picture, at least not on paper. Not being a critic here but just giving my honest analysis.
-
West Indies - Cricket World Cup 2019If the 15 men selected to play for West Indies live up to their potential, it’ll be one of the strongest teams out there. The squad is filled with players who are known for their exploits and players who come on the back of strings of exciting performances in ODI cricket. It’s just a matter of clicking as a team.
