Right, so I think an overview of yesterday's match is a pretty good place to get this blog going.
I'm not going to sit here and crit every player's performance and comment on their technique. I am not in any position to offer opinion on that side of things, I can only write as a passionate supporter.
Now after our defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka - which wasn't entirely surprising - and that last ball madness against New Zealand, yesterday's match was a must win if we stood any chance of getting to the semi-finals. Now let's be honest, it's the Netherlands it really should have been an easy win with a nice boost to our net run rate even though according to Faf that's not what they were concentrating on (yeah right! Amla getting 22 in one over). But in true South African style we had to make it hard for ourselves.
De Kock unfortunately didn't come through in this game but the hope is that he finds some serious form from here on as he definitely has the potential. Luckily Amla seemed to have his head in the game and was slightly out of character with a few big hits. Then Amla got out... from then on it was a pretty sorry sight. It was a defendable score but it was, well, lacking. Our tail is just too long for this format of the game, especially when our front-line batsmen don't perform. The need for a bowling all-rounder is obvious. Experimenting with the batting order has very rarely worked for South Africa. Tried and tested is generally the best formula ESPECIALLY at a World Cup when we are already on the back foot. Personally I'm quite happy with the batsmen we have in the current line-up so I don't think any of them should be dropped based on this performance but rather stay in their original order. Behardien is the only replacement batsman in the squad and he hasn't put in any outstanding performances that would warrant him a place in the squad. I do think that Parnell needs to slot in at no. 8 as the bowling all-rounder and being a left arm bowler he provides variation.
The bowling...
White-knuckled and the use of quite a few four letter words pretty much sums up how I experienced our bowling innings. Having Albie Morkel and Hendriks opening the bowling was an interesting choice but it seemed to work. Tsotsobe really didn't start well and unfortunately he wasn't able to bring it back Steyn managed to keep his run rate nice and conservative but without bowling the Netherlands out there was no way would have won that match and Steyn got that started for us as well. South Africa really need to appreciate the amazing talent that this man possesses and with out him we would probably be in a really bad place. Tahir again proved that he deserves his spot in this team with his Man of the Match performance. Going back to my earlier thought about Parnell needing to be in the team means that one of the bowlers needs to come out. Adding to that, Morne Morkel will more than likely come back into the squad for the England game. From this thinking, Parnell should come in for Tsotsobe and Hendriks will probably give way to Morkel which is unfortunate because he really did have a good game.
The next game is going to be absolutely vital and the boys really need to step up and show what they are made of. Their last two performances have really been stressful to watch as a fan but in many ways it was great to see the team fight for the win when it really looked like there was no chance of one. The "Ch" word could easily get thrown around if we had been defeated in the last two games but the guys proved that they have the experience and drive to win. On that note - please can the next game be somewhat easier to win because the last two have really shaved a few years off my life!
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