South African Proteas Captain Graem Smith

South African cricket supporters have been criticised for being extremists: when the Proteas win, we are extremely happy and when they lose we are dreadfully unhappy and condemn Graeme Smith for his lack of strategy. In the aftermath of the historic win over Australia on Sunday, 12 March 2006, only the brave will question Smith’s strategy or lack thereof lest they are attacked by a barrage of Proteas supporters who will throw the record breaking 438/9 in their faces. I only know of one person who was not wholly interested in fifth ODI at the Wanderers. As for the rest of us – we were either glued to our seats or pacing up and down calculating probabilities in the fashion of statisticians, biting our nails, covering our eyes, giving advice to the players, hoping Australia would mess up and shouting our lungs out.

Undoubtedly, many of us thought that Ponting’s men had the game in the bag: 434 was never going to be an easy chase and with the likes of classy players like Jacques Kallis and Boeta Dippenaar who take their time in stroke placement and the like. The task seemed almost impossible. One could see that the morale of the team was not up to scratch and neither was the crowd as the Bullring was likened to an Australian abattoir by one discerning commentator. Smith and his men had a lot to play for, a lot to defend and the title of “chokers” to renounce. And renounce it they did, in one of the most amazing matches I have seen; shades of England’s Ashes victory come to mind, but this was better because it was close to heart. Finally! Finally we won against the Aussies and even Ricky Ponting’s smashing innings did not deter the fiery Gibbs and Smith who both helped to cement the South African fight-back. Everyone seemed to make a contribution with the bat, even Johan van der Wath and Roger Telemachus, and in retrospect it appears as if the loss of Dippenaar’s wicket was a blessing.

Elation spread across South Africa as Makhaya Ntini nudged the ball to the gulley area and as Mark Boucher hit those memorable four runs to the boundary, this rainbow nation of ours was united. What a joy it was to walk down University Avenue on Monday morning hearing the buzz of fans discussing the match that has been hailed the greatest game ever and what pride was instilled in my heart as I looked upon the South African flag being held aloft in the hand of a fellow student. Each time I saw “Proteas vir President!” on the lamp posts it brought a smile to my face. But that was then, now is a different story altogether.

Alas that momentous occasion, although not faded in memory, cannot blind one to the dire straits that South African cricket has fallen. The 438/9 victory may have made the Proteas feel like kings and rightly so, but their performance after it have made many fans wonder whether all the glory had gone to their heads, especially in light of their subsequent defeat against Australia in the Test series. Yes, it can be argued that the ODIs and Tests are different things, but after that record breaking ego boost one would think that the Proteas would make that positive energy work for them. Sadly this has appeared not to be the case and even though we have not lost match after match, we have lost series after series. Our heroes have let us down in the profoundest of ways.

I am one of those fans who have the misfortunate disposition of sitting in front of the TV or in the crowd even if my team is losing. I have to be there to see the last ball bowled, the last run taken or the last wicket that falls...whichever comes first. Some call it a love for the game, others call it madness. I’m starting to bend towards the latter point of view, especially in regards to the current series between Sri Lanka and South Africa. I think I have reached my limit. After the second day’s play of the first Test, I could watch no further. Come Monday morning I didn’t know how it had all panned out and did I care? Of course I did, but my cricket instincts had become numb and when I heard that my team had lost once again, there was nothing much to comment about.

There was many a time that I thought that Graeme Smith should be relieved of his captaincy duties but since he is injured and Ashwell Prince has taken over in the interim, nothing drastic has changed. Not that I expected a massive turnaround, it was after all Prince’s first game and I cannot really comment on his strategy since I was reluctant to watch, but it has come to my attention that perhaps it is not Smith’s fault after all. Perhaps the Proteas are losing touch, perhaps they are just having a bad spell or perhaps I’m just losing faith. Whatever the problem may be there is always the hope that it will change and that change will come soon. South Africa couldn’t prove their cricketing abilities in Sri Lanka due to the bomb blast near their hotel and their subsequent return home, but the everlasting green light across the bay that springs eternal expectation shines bright. I anticipate a lot of good moments of cricket to arise but we don’t need good moments, we need lasting impressions.