We didn’t turn up: Faf
THE ghost of the 2015 Cricket World Cup semi-final exit will never quite disappear from the consciousness of those who played that game.
Mention it, then look into the eyes of any of the 11 that took the field that day – or any of those who were in the team sheds immediately after, and you will know that it will always be the one that got away.
Faf du Plessis went back briefly to that night in the aftermath of the Champions Trophy demise to India.
There were no tears on Sunday, because the Proteas didn’t even get close.
There was disappointment, of course, and maybe even embarrassment, but the surrender was too meek to shed a tear over.
“That Auckland semi will always be the one that got away,” Du Plessis sighed, by way of explaining the mood in the team sheds on Sunday.
“We played a great game of cricket that day, and we really felt that it was our time. I remember sitting in the change- room for a long time, and it was the lowest point of my career,” he added.
It is a sentiment shared by just about all 15 men in that squad, and probably by millions who observed the drama.
Sunday, however, was a world away.
“We didn’t turn up. That was the worst game of cricket that we’ve played in probably the last 12-18 months,” Du Plessis winced, as he held court with the gathered South African media contingent.
When he moved on to the Indian mob, Du Plessis made a statement that was rather revealing, especially if it wasn’t said in gest.
“If I could, I wish I could go to the South African team that finally wins an ICC event in the future, and asked them how they did it,” he is reported to have said.
The present side is devoid of any ideas, it seems.
They’ve tried most remedies, they say. The mental state is fine, they insist.
And yet, no one can quite put the finger on the right button.
Of course, unlike normal tournament exits, South Africa are still in London. They are the most awkward of visitors right now, because they were supposed to be in Birmingham, or, at least, in Cardiff preparing for a semi-final.
That hasn’t happened, so they must wait for England and Pakistan to dazzle, then India and Bangladesh to joust, before cricket returns to the capital. It is not what the plan was. Not much has gone to plan since landing in the UK, as they have lost an ODI series they maintain was just building for bigger things, and then folded early in the Champions Trophy that was the bigger thing.
The T20 series is next, and they’ve already lost Lungi Ngidi to another injury setback.
They will likely meet a bubbly England, possibly fresh off a tournament victory.
The crowds will bay for more green misery, and a summer that promised so much could gather even bleaker momentum.
Lest we forget, there is a massive Test series at the end of all this, one which the Proteas hoped to exact revenge in.
England will take some stopping now, in whatever format, and the tourists in London would do well to brace themselves.
England, mighty mighty England, is coming.