Just like in previous big International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments, South African players will be burdened by the heavy weight of expectation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman over the coming weeks.
The Proteas, who are looking for their first big trophy, are in the “Group of Death” with two-time champions the West Indies, Australia and England and their matches are expected to be nail-biting.
For the Proteas, who have never made it to the final, this tournament will also be a test of the leadership of skipper Temba Bavuma who will be looking for a winning start against rivals Australia on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
SA, the West Indies, Australia and England will be joined in the Super 12 by the winner of the qualifiers from Group A, which has Ireland, Namibia, the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
They will also be joined by one runner-up from Group B of the qualifiers, which includes Bangladesh, Oman, Papua New Guinea and Scotland and starts today.
Looking ahead to the tournament, Bavuma stressed the importance of trying to win the showpiece.
“The 2021 ICC T20 World Cup is of vital importance to the Proteas and SA as a nation. Not only is the T20 format a key part of Cricket SA’s strategy to introduce new fans to the game of cricket, this tournament will also be the first of three opportunities for us to claim our first-ever ICC World Cup trophy,” said Bavuma.
South Africa
Strengths : The Proteas go into the tournament on the back of three consecutive series victories over the West Indies, Ireland and Sri Lanka recently but it remains to be seen whether they will take that form into the World Cup.
The Proteas are under pressure to get past the semifinal stages they reached in 2009 and 2014 before they were eliminated by Pakistan and India respectively, and go all the way to win the tournament.
To achieve that mission, coach Mark Boucher is going to need batters like Quinton de Kock, Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen to come out guns blazing at the top of the batting order.
SA boast one of the most potent bowling attacks in the tournament in the form of fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortjé and Lungi Ngidi.
They also have top-ranked T20 wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, vastly experienced Keshav Maharaj, Bjorn Fortuin and part-timer Aiden Makram who could all come into play if the conditions favour spinners.
Weaknesses: SA will have to guard against top-order collapses that have been the team’s achilles heel for a long time and have negatively affected them on numerous occasions.
De Kock, Bavuma, Markram, Hendricks, Klaasen, Miller and Van der Dussen must ensure that good batting foundations are laid to relieve pressure on the middle and lower orders.
The other issue for the Proteas is that they don’t have an experienced all-rounder and pressure is going to be on Dwaine Pretorius and Wiaan Mulder to produce the goods with both the ball and the bat.
Australia
Strengths: The T20 World Cup has proven elusive for Australia but they will be one of the favourites in the UAE and Oman because they boast one of the most balanced teams in the tournament.
With the bat, Aaron Finch and David Warner are probably the best opening pair in this format and they also have Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell who are going to be crucial for them in the middle overs and towards the death.
With the ball, they have Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa, who can blunt any batting attack.
Weaknesses: Australia will have to overcome poor individual and team form as they have lost series away from home to of the West Indies and Bangladesh earlier this year.
West Indies
Strengths: The two-time champions are stacked with the T20 specialists with the likes of power hitters Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo and Evin Lewis.
Their bowling unit has also been improving and focus will be on Oshane Thomas, Obed McCoy and Ravi Rampaul to put teams under pressure.
Weaknesses: Their bowling attack has been severely weakened by the absence of front-line spinner Sunil Narine, who has been excluded from the squad for failing to meet fitness requirements set up by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
England
Strengths : England have depth in their batting line-up, which includes powerful players like Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler in the top six and they also have Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, David Willey and Chris Woakes.
Weaknesses: England will definitely miss the destructive allrounder Ben Stokes, who has not played since July to recover from an injured finger and deal with his mental health.
They will also be without fast bowling allrounder Sam Curran, who has been ruled out by injury.
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