Ken Borland

South Africa’s Allan Donald and Herschelle Gibbs are both well-acquainted with the sorrow of World Cup failure, but the pair of cricketing legends believe that the current crop of Proteas who are in the West Indies will end the country’s startling lack of success in showpiece events when they compete in the T20 World Cup final at Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday.

The Proteas bowled Afghanistan out for a record low of just 56 on their way to a commanding nine-wicket victory in their semi-final on Wednesday night in Tarouba, Trinidad, and will meet the winners of Thursday’s semi-final between India and England in the final.

Despite being consistently one of the strongest teams in international cricket since returning from isolation in 1991, South Africa’s men’s team have never before reached a major International Cricket Council final. They had lost out in seven previous semi-finals before their triumph against Afghanistan.

Renowned fast bowler Donald and dashing opening batsman Gibbs both played in the 1999 World Cup semi-final against Australia at Edgbaston, which is probably South Africa’s most famous ‘defeat’ of all. The match ended in a tie after Donald was run out, having set off late and dropping his bat, meaning Australia went through based on their higher log-position.

The eventual champions had finished above South Africa thanks to beating them four days earlier by five wickets with two balls to spare in a Super Sixes match at Leeds. Chasing 272, Australia were in trouble on 48 for three when captain Steve Waugh came to the crease. He had just reached his half-century when Gibbs dropped an easy catch from him at midwicket, spilling the ball as he tried to throw it up in a premature celebration. Waugh would go on to score a magnificent 120 not out. Gibbs had earlier been the mainstay of the South African innings with his 101.

“I honestly believe this is South Africa’s time,” Donald told SportsBoom.com, “they are battle-hardened and mentally-conditioned now to winning the very big moments. They have found a way to win every time, someone has made a breakthrough or someone has come up with crucial runs eight matches in a row.

“Coach Rob Walter has brought top character through and made everyone responsible. I really think it is their time. They are playing with fantastic calmness and are really tight-knit as a squad,” Donald, who also fell short in the 1992, 96 and 2003 World Cups, said.

Gibbs told SportsBoom.com that he also believed the time was now to end South Africa’s World Cup jinx.

“T20 cricket is all about momentum and momentum is with the Proteas. They have done it the hard way and now that they’ve got to the final, I believe the cricketing gods will smile on us.

“Our bowling line-up is as good as any and with the pitches doing so much, the bowlers are always in play. Captain Aiden Markram’s decision-making has been really good, he’s made the changes, the big calls, at the right times. He shows a lot of composure in reading the situation. The final will be the ultimate game and playing the situation is the vital thing,” Gibbs, who was also part of the failed 2003 and 2007 campaigns, as well as the 2007, 2009 and 2010 T20 World Cup tournaments, said.

Gibbs, who was one of the most dashing batsmen of his era and would have earned himself millions of rand in franchise cricket had he been born 10 years later, also said that the tricky pitches in the current T20 World Cup had shown modern batters were not willing to grind through tough conditions.

“The pitches have done a lot, it’s been a bit excessive at times, but then average batsmen can look world-class on flat decks – they just hit through the line. The IPL scores were a bit ridiculous this year and the game needed to be brought down to earth a little.

“The tough conditions bring out the temperament of the batsmen and technique is needed. When bowlers have been able to land the ball in the right areas at the right pace, the batters have not been able to handle it because of their flawed techniques. They’re just used to taking the easy route, they don’t grind, they don’t fancy it. You need gritty innings in those conditions.

“At the IPL final for Deccan Chargers at the Wanderers in 2009, I scored 53 not out in the 20 overs because I knew I just had to be there. Anil Kumble bowled the first over for Bangalore and Adam Gilchrist charged down the pitch third ball and was bowled.

“But I said to myself that I must just have a look, the onus was on me, you have to take that responsibility on your shoulders. You have to allow yourself to get to grips with the surface and the tough runs are the most satisfying,” Gibbs said of the Deccan Chargers’ six-run win in South Africa.

The 50-year-old Gibbs said he expected the batsmen to have another mountain to climb at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, but the IPL experience of the likes of Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock, Tristan Stubbs, Markram and David Miller should stand them in good stead.

“In the CPL, that pitch has turned and there have been a lot of close games. Our spinners can come to the party with the ball, but for the batsmen, building partnerships against spin is going to be the key. It’s something they still haven’t mastered and they will need to do it.

“Heinrich Klaasen says the pressure of the IPL will stand them in good stead and they need to show that the pressure does not get to them because BMT has been our achilles heel in the past. But this team has found ways to win,” Gibbs said.

Donald, as coach, and Gibbs will return next week to Edgbaston, the scene of their agonising near-miss in 1999, representing South Africa in the World Championship of Legends, a new six-team T20 tournament that has signed a five-year contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Having dealt with their T20 World Cup disappointment in level-headed fashion, South Africa’s cricketers have shown a mature outlook on their narrow defeat to India in the final at Bridgetown, Barbados, and are excited for the future, according to head coach Rob Walter.

The Proteas looked poised to end their miserable record in world cups in their first appearance in a men’s final as they reached the last five overs needing 30 runs from 30 balls with six wickets in hand. But India were exceptional at the death, Jasprit Bumrah bowling two of those closing overs and conceding just six runs while also taking a wicket, being well-backed by fellow seamers Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh, while Suryakumar Yadav took an incredible boundary catch in the final over as South Africa fell an agonising seven runs short.

“When you lose that way, it always hurts and you think about all those small margins during the game. But you only end up torturing yourself thinking about one run here or there,” Walter told SportsBoom.com upon his return to Johannesburg on Thursday.

“You have to give India credit, Bumrah was incredible in the two overs he had left, he’s a world-class bowler who made a big difference at the end. But I’m also very proud of how we acquitted ourselves, the guys showed a lot of resilience and courage.

“Reaching the final shows that we’ve made great strides as a team and I’m excited for the future. Just look at our attack and the pacemen who didn’t play (Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi & Nandre Burger) – we’ve probably got seven quick bowlers who can make an impact at that level.

“And everyone said India’s spinners would choke us in the middle overs, but look at how our batsmen attacked them, they made a play and we got to parity at the back end. We won a lot of big moments through the tournament and we didn’t do much wrong in the final,” Walter said.

Captain Aiden Markram handled the immediate devastation of defeat with aplomb in the couple of hours after the final. While admitting he was gutted, he spoke mostly about the pride he felt in his team and his confidence that they will fight another day.

Previous Proteas captains have left the world cup looking drained of all inspiration, their faces as glum as someone who has just had a beloved family member pass away.

“Everyone was shattered after the final, but Aiden found a way to put a smile on his face,” Keshav Maharaj said. “That optimism is something we could feed off as a team, it restored our belief and it shows how far we have come as a team. We will bounce back and I’m pretty sure Aiden will be one of the first South Africans holding the world cup. As our leader, he is very much in command and we respect him greatly.”

While South Africa’s part in the great spectacle of a gripping final will go down in cricketing lore, Walter believes the team is steadily building towards winning an ICC trophy. The 48-year-old coach said the low of being 24 for four at the start of the 50-over World Cup semi-final against Australia at Eden Gardens in November last year was the genesis of their new-found belief in the big moments.

“We may have lost the game in the end, but that match was a massive win for us psychologically. From 24 for four, we played outstandingly well and gave ourselves a chance, we did the same with the ball.

“I still believe that semi-final will be the catalyst to us finally winning a world cup, and in the T20 World Cup now we just kept chipping away and clawing our way back, there’s a lot of resilience in this team,” Walter said.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape coach Adrian Birrell is ever-pragmatic and measured, and he did not need to ruminate long for the reasons behind his team’s 76-run defeat at the hands of MI Cape Town in the SA20 final at the Wanderers on Saturday evening: They were simply the better team.

MI Cape Town were just better on the night (and probably all season, to be fair) in all three departments as the two-time defending champions failed to pull off what would have been an incredible hat-trick of titles. To win a T20 competition three seasons in a row is incredibly rare; locally, only the Titans have managed it (2015/16-2017/18) and Jaffna Kings in Sri Lanka and Sialkot Stallions in Pakistan are believed to be the only other franchises to have pulled it off.

Everything went right for MI Cape Town as they won the toss and bucked the recent trend and elected to bat first at the Wanderers. Runs on the board in a final are worth more and Ryan Rickelton (33 off 15) and Rassie van der Dussen (23 off 25), the best opening pair in the competition, wasted no time in claiming the advantage. They hit an astonishing six sixes in the first five overs in a first-wicket stand of 51, and although Sunrisers fought back well to claim four wickets in the next six overs, MI Cape Town had important contributions from Connor Esterhuizen (39 off 26) and Dewald Brevis (38 off 18) which enabled them to post 181 for eight.

It was a good score on a Wanderers pitch on which the ball sometimes gripped and turned; the class new-ball bowling of Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada soon turned it into a formidable score. While MI Cape Town had raced to 51 without loss in the first five overs, Sunrisers struggled to 25 for two.

From there it was always going to be an uphill task for the defending champions, and they were eventually bowled out for 105 in the 19^th over.

Left-armer Boult set the tone with two for nine in his four overs, while Rabada wrapped up the victory to claim four for 25. In between, spinners Rashid Khan (4-0-19-1) and George Linde (4-0-20-2) bowled brilliantly.

“Credit to MI Cape Town, they played a really good game of cricket,” Birrell said afterwards. “They have been the most consistent side and they deserve the trophy. I thought 180 was about par, but the ball swung a bit tonight and they have a formidable attack which was really good tonight.

“It’s very difficult to chase 180 when you get behind the game and they bowled very well. And they played a different brand to us with the bat – they hit 15 sixes and only eight fours, usually it’s the other way round. The ball carried well here and that hurt us,” Birrell said.

MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan was delighted by the most dominant SA20 campaign yet. His team were able to amass the most log points (35) in the history of the competition and then won their qualifier by 39 runs and the final by 76.

“I’m definitely happy because last year and the year before we finished bottom, now we have won the final and scored the most points in the group stage, to win five matches with bonus points is unbelievable. Everyone contributed, we won as a team and did not depend on one or two guys,” Rashid said.

New Zealand star Boult, who claimed 11 wickets in the tournament and conceded just 6.94 runs-per-over, certainly did not mean it in any derogatory way when he said MI Cape Town had a very simple on-field approach and a harmonious changeroom that ensured a positive environment.

“We just tried to keep things very simple: bat first and put runs on the board and then unleash our experienced bowling attack. I could sense the unity when I walked into the changeroom on January 1 and we were able to keep things similar through the whole competition. It was a true collective effort.

“I’m very fortunate to play for such a great franchise as the Mumbai Indians group and this is my fourth trophy with them. We have very great owners and they provide a great environment to perform, while expecting us to do a good job,” Boult said.

If Saturday’s SA20 final at the Wanderers is like the wedding feast to celebrate the successful conclusion of the third edition of the tournament that has changed South African cricket, then Thursday night was a wonderful bachelor party for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape as they romped to an eight-wicket win over the Paarl Royals in Qualifier 2 at Centurion.

The comfortable victory, with four balls to spare, puts Sunrisers into their third successive final and the two-time champions will be taking on MI Cape Town in a mouthwatering final clash.

It was 23-year-old Jordan Hermann who took the Eastern Cape side to their target of 176 with his marvellous 69 not out off 48 balls. But it was another left-hander who set up the victory, Tony de Zorzi opening the batting and stroking a beautiful 78 off just 49 deliveries, with 11 fours and two sixes. His play through the off-side was particularly elegant and he reminded everyone what a serious player he is.

Kwena Maphaka snatched up the wicket of David Bedingham (9) for Paarl Royals in the fourth over, but De Zorzi and Hermann then feasted, adding 111 off 73 deliveries for the second wicket.

Jordan Hermann’s older brother Rubin was also involved in a wonderful second-wicket partnership for the Royals, adding 99 off 65 balls with Lhuan-dre Pretorius, whose time in the limelight will surely come.

Rubin Hermann was also unbeaten, scoring 81 not out off 53 deliveries to take Paarl to a competitive 175 for four in their 20 overs, after electing to bat first. Opener Pretorius batted with great maturity, scoring 59 off 41 balls, to show he is ready for bigger things.

They ensured that the Royals started well, while Hermann and Andile Phehlukwayo (22* off 11) provided the big finish they needed. But it was in the middle overs that they faltered, as the admirable Sunrisers attack gobbled up three wickets in four overs, Paarl slipping from 105 for one in the 13^th to 126 for four after 16 overs.

The key breakthroughs were by English paceman Craig Overton, who had Pretorius caught behind, and captain Aiden Markram, who trapped opposite number David Miller lbw, missing a sweep, for just 6. They both ended with excellent figures of one for 24 in four overs.

The Paarl Royals were the form team in the competition, being the first to qualify for the playoffs, but Sunrisers Eastern Cape have been able to supplant them with a trademark surge in the final week.

“The Sunrisers always seem to be slow starters, but the most important thing is that they catch up in the end,” Miller said after another playoffs disappointment for the Royals. “Once you develop a winning squad like they have, then there’s a lot of trust and they really back each other.

“They are clever and gutsy cricketers, they never say die and that goes a long way in T20. They give everything in the field, they have amazing bowlers, especially the three-metre guys with height and pace in these conditions, and the batsmen have stepped up at certain stages when needed,” Miller graciously said.

De Zorzi thanked Markram for his backing, but in truth the 27-year-old deserves credit for his tenacity in smashing down the door once it was left ajar.

“I’m really grateful for the chance and to Aiden for showing faith in me, even though it’s not really warranted in this format. I haven’t played that many T20 games and you need to play more to find your rhythm and blueprint. Sometimes you have doubts, but I am still relatively young and I need to keep believing. I was glad to do it tonight because it gives me hope and this is an unforgiving format,” De Zorzi said.