Maybe our sports teams would do better if they were not also expected to be politicians

The Proteas will arrive home this week from the cricket World Cup with their tails firmly between their legs after another calamitous tournament.

SA's failure to win or do well in such tournaments has become the butt of jokes - chokers has become our name - but this has been the worst performance ever, even by our previous poor standards. For a South African supporter, it was excruciatingly painful to watch.

Perhaps we demand too much from our sports teams. We expect them to fulfil roles for which they are not meant. We somehow expect sport to make up for the failure of politics, culture and education in improving our lot. That's a huge ask.

That Madiba magic we're so fond of is a cop-out: politicians shirking their responsibility to work for the betterment of the country and instead placing it on the shoulders of the poor sportsman or woman who's using their talents to eke out a living.

Sport should not be viewed as an activity designed to mould or to will society in a certain direction, or to achieve certain political or social goals. Performance on the field should be seen as a reflection of where society is at that particular moment. Thus the Springboks' victory in 1995 and Bafana Bafana's triumph in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) a year later - both on home soil - were obviously a product of hard work and prodigious talent, but they were also a reflection of the good feelings arising from the 1994 peaceful transition to democracy. Mandela's popularity didn't hurt, either.

Likewise, now that the full extent of the ravages of state capture have been laid bare for all to see, a pall of gloom and uncertainty covers the country. This is bound to affect sportsmen, as it would everybody else.

The Proteas were by no means the only team to underperform. South African teams performed poorly in the Super Rugby competition. Bafana Bafana squeaked through to the second round of Afcon currently in Egypt by the skin of their teeth. Banyana Banyana were woeful in the women's soccer World Cup, which concludes today. It's surprising that they received a "well done" message from the presidency despite failing to win a single game. We will begin to do better in international competitions the day we stop cheering mediocrity.

The Proteas' flop obviously received most of the attention - and criticism - because the Cricket World Cup is the game's biggest stage and SA is among the elite in the sport. They've always held their own against the top teams. Australia, one of the tournament's favourites, were roundly beaten by the Proteas during their tour of SA last year. They had to resort to cheating to try to stay competitive. That they have been able to recover from a nadir within such a short time shows the mark of their mental strength - a commodity which the Proteas unfortunately seem to lack.

But the Proteas seem to have been beaten - or beaten themselves - long before the tournament. They made the wrong decisions. One of them was to persist with an injured Dale Steyn.

Steyn has been SA's leading wicket taker - and one of the best in the world - but he's been out injured for the better part of two years. He hasn't been himself since he was forced to return early from the Australia tour in November 2016 with a shoulder injury. Instead of grooming a replacement, too much time and resources were squandered in an attempt to nurse him back to health in time for the World Cup. He was almost being willed to be fit.

Early this year he made a cameo appearance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but had to withdraw and rush back home early after he broke down again. But the powers that be decided he should be part of the squad to the World Cup. They thought he would be OK after the first few games. They ultimately had to accept defeat and send him home. But even if Steyn were fit, how could they have expected him to withstand the rigours of such a long and gruelling tournament when he'd been unable to finish a series without his injury recurring?

Steyn's absence would not have been felt so acutely had the other bowlers been fit and raring to go. But Lungi Ngidi was also injured and missed most of the matches. Kagiso Rabada was withdrawn because of a back problem after sterling performances at the IPL. He's had a World Cup to forget.

It's always a pleasure to watch Hashim Amla play but I'm not sure whether to sing the praises of an exquisite talent or to lament the sunset of a great career. He's broken many records, especially in ODI. He's hit SA's first triple century - 311 not out - compiled in the company of Jacques Kallis as they put England to the sword at The Oval in July 2012. Two years earlier he had amassed 285 runs in an unbroken stand, again with Kallis, as SA crushed India by an innings and six runs.

Amla, like Steyn, is a legend, but he should not have made the World Cup squad. He was woefully out of form. It was sad to see him struggle against lowly Afghanistan. The squad should have been selected on current form, not sentiment.

But perhaps the biggest mistake was to appoint Ottis Gibson as Proteas coach. The team has regressed under his watch. The defeat by Sri Lanka at home was a low point. He is a one-trick pony who placed all his hopes and energies on his seam bowlers, and his strategy collapsed when they failed to deliver. The team looked woeful even against opposition they routinely wallop. That defeat by Bangladesh was really the pits.

But perhaps our teams could play with freedom and nonchalance if we could remove the burden of nation-building from their shoulders. All they want to do is play sport.