The Proteas have given us something to celebrate as well as expectations for the future — and that was even before Saturday’s T20 World Cup final.
From their opener against Sri Lanka in New York on June 3 they notched up eight wins in a row — their longest winning streak to date. Twice before they’d done seven, one of which spilled into the 2009 edition of the same tournament.
That run ended in the semifinals in Nottingham, where they lost to Pakistan, the eventual champions, by seven runs.
Much has been said about the Rubicon crossed by Aiden Markram and his courageous men by reaching the final of an ICC tournament for the first time, but that is probably a tad overstated.
Where they really impressed was winning the tight matches, those nail-biting finales that have often gone the wrong way in the past, especially on the World Cup stage.
The Proteas beat Afghanistan by a landslide in the semifinal, but the matches against the West Indies, England, Nepal and Bangladesh went down to the final over, and for much of the Netherlands contest our hearts were in our mouths.
Turning uncertainty into triumph under pressure is indicative of a positive mindset, and if they do it often enough it becomes a habit. Sure, one cannot win all the time, but it increases the odds.
But, if one thinks back far enough, this might not be the first time the Proteas have travelled this road. In 1998 a below-strength team beat Australia in the final of the Commonwealth Games in a 50-over format. They also had to survive a tense semifinal against Sri Lanka to stay in the tournament.
Not long afterwards they won an ODI tournament featuring all the Test-playing nations in Bangladesh.
Those two victories helped to install that South African team as favourites at the 1999 World Cup, where they pulled off some narrow victories before losing that horrific tied semifinal against Australia at Edgbaston.
That’s the cyclical nature of sport, but for now, it's been great celebrating the Proteas.
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