Any advantage the Proteas may have hoped to gain from finishing on top of group B of the Champions Trophy has been usurped by India’s totalitarian control of cricket.
Temba Bavuma’s squad will travel to Dubai today, where they and Australia — who flew from Pakistan yesterday — must await the outcome of this afternoon’s clash between India and New Zealand, which will determine the finishing positions in Group A.
The logistical farce is to ensure that whichever team faces India in the first semifinal on Tuesday has sufficient time to prepare at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, where the match will be played.
It is the result of the International Cricket Council acquiescing to India’s demands after that country’s cricket authorities said Rohit Sharma’s team would not play in Pakistan, due to safety reasons.
India and Pakistan have been locked in a decades-long diplomatic conflict, which has seen their cricket teams not facing each other except in ICC competitions — like the Champions Trophy — or regional tournaments, such as the Asia Cup.
It means the team that does not face India will travel back to Pakistan on Monday, to begin preparations for Wednesday’s second semifinal. In another absurd twist, should India win its semifinal, the victor in Wednesday’s knockout match would have to return to Dubai for the final, which takes place next Sunday.
Marco Jansen, who was named player of the match after South Africa thumped England by seven wickets in Karachi yesterday to confirm top spot in Group B, was nonplussed about the extra travel. “I haven’t played golf in a long time, so it will be nice to be able to do that,” he said.
Teams that have been in Pakistan have been restricted to the hotels as part of the security measures for the tournament, something India’s players have not had to endure during their three-week stay in Dubai. “I don’t mind it. It’s an hour and half flight, so it’s like a domestic trip back home. It’s not too much of a hassle for me,” said Jansen.
Like Rassie van der Dussen, Jansen agreed that India had been given a significant advantage in being able to play all their matches at one venue. “They’ve had training there, and are used to it,” he said.
The Proteas produced a sloppy display with the ball, despite dismissing England for 179 in the 39th over on Saturday. Although the plan to bowl straight was understandable, they missed their mark several times, offering freebies to the England top order, and dishing up 12 wides as a result.
Fortunately, the confidence of the England team is at such a low ebb that once the Proteas dismissed their best batter Joe Root — who was bowled, playing around a straight ball from Wiaan Mulder — there was no chance of them setting a competitive total.
Some good catching from Jansen, who took 3/39, and a remarkable diving catch at mid-on from Lungi Ngidi elevated a fielding performance which started with a missed run out — because of Ngidi’s absent-mindedness — and the dropping of Root in the gully by Mulder when he had three.
“There wasn’t too much swing I was hoping for, so my best option was to hit that hard length and not err on the fuller side, rather be shorter,” said Jansen.
Besides Keshav Maharaj, who delivered a lovely 10-over spell to pick up 2/35, the lack of discipline and control with the ball should concern the South Africans ahead of the semifinal.
They may cite the week-long break they’ve had as a reason for yesterday’s rustiness, and hope they’ve got that dreadful performance out of their system. The same goes for the illness bug that hit the camp in the last few days and caused Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi to miss yesterday’s encounter — after Kagiso Rabada had already been affected earlier in the week.
Fortunately, it appears that Aiden Markram, who stood in as captain, should be all right for the playoffs. He missed the last few overs of England’s innings with a right hamstring injury, which he picked up while making a diving stop at mid-off.
Markram’s batting wasn’t needed, with Heinrich Klaasen, playing in his first match in the competition, unfurling some stunning shotmaking in an innings of 64 — that included 11 fours — while Rassie van der Dussen finished with 72 not out.
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