Walter’s future on a knife-edge

There is a lot more at stake for the Proteas and head coach Rob Walter at the ICC Champions Trophy than just another opportunity to end the nation’s championship bogey.

The South Africans head into the competition on the back of a horrendous run in ODIs. Since exiting the 2023 World Cup at the semifinal stage, they’ve won just four of their 14 50-over matches, including the current streak of six defeats in a row. 

Despite Walter’s team unexpectedly reaching that semifinal two years ago — which was followed by a runners-up finish at last year’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies — pressure is growing behind the scenes at Cricket SA about his future, particularly in light of South Africa’s poor performances outside of ICC events. 

A remark last year about transformation after a home T20 series defeat against India, did not go down well in some circles, while the fact that Walter still lives in New Zealand, is seen as leaving him detached from South African cricket more broadly. 

He has two years remaining on his contract, but the director of national teams and high performance, Enoch Nkwe — who appointed Walter — may find the calls to move on from him difficult to ignore if South Africa don’t return with silverware next month.

It’s not only Walter who faces an uncertain future should South Africa fall short in Pakistan. There are a number of players who will be under scrutiny as the road to the 2027 World Cup narrows.

The Champions Trophy is at the halfway point of the 50-over World Cup cycle and any decisive moves about the future of players for 2027, would have to take place in the next few months. 

The average age of the squad is 30, but some important players are at an age where consideration needs to be given to whether they can reach 2027. David Miller (35), Tabraiz Shamsi (34), Rassie van der Dussen (35) and skipper Temba Bavuma (34) all fall into that category.

The SA20 has shown there is sufficient young talent available, and if the likes of Lhuan dre Pretorius, Donovan Ferreira, Jordan Hermann and Kwena Maphaka are to be ready for the World Cup on home soil, they need to start building experience soon.

Van der Dussen, who averages 54.21 across 19 World Cup matches, has rated his chances of playing in the 2027 tournament at “50/50”. He said: “It comes down to personal performance as well as motivation, and there are so many good kids coming through.

“I’m not the type of guy who will hang on for the sake of hanging on. International cricket is tough, it comes with pressure, which is also rewarding, and if I’m good enough, I’d expect to be in the mix in 2027 but I wouldn’t expect any favours.”

Since the administrative debacle that started in 2018, South African cricket has made significant strides which have been illustrated on the field, where besides the men’s Proteas reaching a semifinal and then final in two limited–overs tournaments, they also qualified for the World Test Championship final.

The women’s team has finished runners-up at the last two T20 World Cups and the under-19 women’s team matched them recently. But a trophy continues to elude South Africa and former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, who captained his country to Champions Trophy titles in 2006 and 2009, believes that burden is beginning to weigh heavily.

If we don’t win this ICC trophy, life goes on, we’ll be fine

—  Rassie van der Dussen

“It’s just becoming such a mental hurdle now for South Africa to get over the line in these big tournaments,” he said in an interview for the ICC.

“Even going back to when I was playing, South Africa always had really good teams going into ICC events and unfortunately for them couldn’t get the job done.

“They’re a pretty experienced side now. Bavuma’s been leading that side for a while, their bowling attack is strong, their middle order batting is as dangerous as anybody’s. If they put it together, yes they can win it, but I still think that the more times that you lose those big games, the harder and harder it is to get over the line — and that’s what South Africa has struggled with over the last 15 years,” Ponting added. 

Van der Dussen didn’t agree. “It’s an easy stance for him to take. He never ever had that baggage because he came into a team that was successful. He never had to deal with people saying he’s a choker at the first ICC event he played,” he said.

“We’ve realised the disappointment is not that bad. Our lives will go on, there are more important things in South Africa especially that people deal with than losing in a World Cup final.  There’s a real life out there, and we in South Africa know that better than, perhaps, any country in the world. If we don’t win this ICC trophy, life goes on, we’ll be fine.”