Proteas tuneless without their one-man band
South Africa told us nothing we didn’t already know.
It’s become very clear – in case anyone was in any doubt before the world cup started – that AB de Villiers is their best player.
But as events have unfolded, including yesterday’s innings of 341-6 against the United Arab Emirates, it appears the captain’s actually becoming the team’s only player.
Put in by the UAE, South Africa’s performance was workmanlike.
Farhaan Behardien, back in the first XI to cover for the injured Faf du Plessis, hit 64 late but the only thing that lifted South Africa’s knock above poor was de Villiers.
Hashim Amla’s form, meanwhile, has dropped away dramatically.
At Mt Maunganui’s Bay Oval in October, he made New Zealand’s bowlers look decidedly secondrate.
He’s since dominated the West Indies attack in a home series and had a score or two in Pool B here.
But he’s not looked anywhere near as fluent as October, which magnifies how little Quinton de Kock is producing.
Amla’s left-handed opening partner is averaging 8 for the world cup and letting the side down a bit.
The 26 he made against the UAE was his highest score of the tournament, but one he laboured 45 balls over on the slow Welling- ton Regional Stadium pitch.
Amla was the first to go. He scored 12, surviving a nasty beamer along the way.
Muhammad Naveed had conceded a free hit and, in his desire to presumably hit the blockhole, missed the target by miles and hit Amla on the right wrist with a full bunger.
South African hearts in the press box sank but Amla was OK.
Rilee Rossouw came out and looked as good as any of the South African batsmen. His 43 was a useful innings, but a good chunk of the nice work was undone when he fol- lowed de Kock back to the pavilion.
From 85-1, the Proteas were suddenly 96-3, with de Villiers and David Miller both starting from scratch.
Miller didn’t look like much and eventually chopped on for 49, while his skipper should have perished on 63. He’d played a very controlled hand till that point, when he drove at a Amjad Javed ball that didn’t quite arrive.
Better athletes would’ve snared it, but a hopeful left mitt was all Javed could get on the caught and bowled chance.
De Villiers celebrated his luck by going 6, 4, 4, 1, 6, 4 off the next six balls he faced.
He then seemed certain to register a hundred until, on 99, he was caught at short third man trying to slash Kamran Shazad through the offside.
Expectations are enormous where de Villiers is concerned.
It’s not enough for him to stroke and nudge and whack his way to 99 off 82 balls, as was the case here.
If he’s not going at a strike rate of 200 or more, it’s as if he hasn’t played well.
This was definitely a decent hand but it reinforced the fact that South Africa might not turn out to be much chop if de Villiers gets out cheaply.