Can choking South Africa bounce back at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India?
Adam Harrison |
Outside of the big three: India, England, and Australia, it’s fair to say that South Africa looked like one of the best-placed teams to win the 2022 T20 World Cup. But yet again, when it really mattered, they were found wanting.
Went for breakfast with a friend. Told him we'll go Dutch. He almost choked at the proposition!😋😋#SAvsNED pic.twitter.com/kDH1tN5nPJ
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) November 6, 2022
Luckily for the Proteas, they don’t have too long to wait to try and set the record straight, as the next ICC competition is the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, with the 50 over competition taking place in India next October and November.
South Africa is Sixth favourite to Win the 2023 ICC World Cup
As would be expected India is the favourite to win the competition. Paddy Power has the hosts priced up at 5/2 to win the competition on home soil. As for the spluttering South Africans, their betting odds to win the 2023 tournament are 10/1.
They are the sixth favourite in the betting, and judging by their exit in Australia, using one of the many betting offers that will be available at the next ICC event might be a wise choice. Between India and South Africa is England at 3/1, Australia at 4/1, Pakistan at 6/1, and New Zealand at 7/1.
And after the way South Africa chucked away their T20 World Cup chances, you would be wanting odds of 10/1 on them.
Is There Any Optimism For a South African World Cup Win?
So, after failing so miserably at the T20 World Cup in Australia, are there any reasons to believe South Africa can be successful in India next year? At the moment they are sixth in the ODI world rankings, which is reflected in their betting odds to win the competition in India. So as things stand, the answer would have to be no.
But there are some positives for South Africa. At the T20 World Cup, the South African pace attack was widely regarded to be up there with the best in the competition. Their quartet of quick bowlers terrorised batters in all of their five Super 12 matches.
It’ll be the same quartet leading the South African attack in India and this will give them a great chance to limit opposition batters and restrict scores. Owing to the longer format, Kagiso Rabada and his teammates will have plenty more control of the match situation. The ODI series win over England in January will also go a long way in boosting hopes ahead of the main event in October and November.
Also going in their favour is that this side has been playing together for a long period now. With the bat, there is Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Rilee Rossouw, and Aiden Markram. All these four guys are around the 30-year mark, and all are in the prime of their respective careers.
Rather than looking back on the 2022 T20 World Cup as another South African choke, the team should be treating it as a warm-up for the main event. This group of players has suffered the disappointment of failure, and they now have the required experience to know what to do to avoid a repeat.
A brilliant performance with both bat and ball 👏
— ICC (@ICC) November 6, 2022
Colin Ackermann is the @aramco POTM from #SAvNED 👏 #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/rrmKLRNQAk
This could make South Africa a dangerous unit not to be underestimated once the competition is underway.
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