The choking catastrophe: A South African conundrum

Acknowledgement of the pretty obvious fact that South Africa had tried to overlook all these years isn’t really going to help them if they fail to find answers to their problems. With veterans like Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith absent from the squad and pace spearheads Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel not in the thick of things, one may expect the South African side to crumble like they have. But a glance at the entire line-up will present a different picture altogether. Even in the absence of veterans, the South African outfit is teeming with recognized talent and seasoned campaigners who have enough firepower in their armory to turn a match on its head in a space of just a couple of overs. Yet the failure to unleash the cards at the required moment and a letdown of the promise shown has hurt the team like nothing else. Proven specialists have fallen short of expectations; the much famed line-up has turned up a cropper.

It’s as much disillusioning for an aficionado as it’s shocking for an ardent analyzer. It’s time for heartbreaks – something (it may sound overtly sadistic) South African fans must be accustomed to by now.

There’s no denying that the choking tag is a familiar one now and the cricketers have learnt to live with it. With the South Africans finding themselves in a similar predicament as in the ’90s, one wonders if there’s actually a solution to this two-decades-old riddle, and why they still haven’t found it, if there’s one.

Since personal opinions aren’t the monopoly of adorned ex-cricketers and widely acclaimed sports journalists, it may seem fitting to mention here that South Africa isn’t a team scarred by the dearth of talent. In contrast to the public demands for a complete overhaul (which are justified on the back of their own rationalization), the Proteas don’t actually need one. This problem is deeper than what appears on the surface. Mental disintegration under pressure-cooker conditions shouldn’t be the case, given the extreme standard of professionalism these players are accustomed to. Perhaps it’s just a simple dilemma of excess – picking the right combination for a particular condition from a surplus talent pool.

South Africa is a team loaded with individual brilliance. However, teamwork has more than often taken the back foot at this juncture which has stimulated the so-called instances of choking. Individuals in the team need to take up certain responsibilities and garner their skills in this regard instead of going about their own unbounded business. Proper assignment of specific roles to batsmen and bowlers and performing them to perfection is exactly what South Africa requires to put an end to their seemingly inexplicable misery. A few changes, therefore, in the batting order may help.

All said and done, it’s all up to the selectors and the board officials to address this puzzle. If not anything, the South African media may be assured of at least a long meeting behind the closed doors comprising of supposedly the most analytic cricketing minds of the country. As to the outcome, there’s our favorite old adage: Only time will tell!