In what turned out to be a remarkable year for South Africa, they were at the end of both ecstasy and despair in the same year. South Africa achieved a lot in 2024 but just could not go onto that elusive title win. Eversince they came back into the fold, despite possessing some of the great bowlers and great batsmen, South Africa were denied the ICC Trophy all along. Several campaigns ended in several heartburns. Though the last year wasn’t that different it was somewhat different in many ways. The year also saw the South African board prioritise their own T20 league over Test match cricket. 2024 for South Africa turned out to be a year during which the highs were more than the lows. Any South African supporter, will be proud of what their team achieved in 2024.
Since the retirement of some of the greats of the game, Smith, Kallis, Steyn, Amla, de Villiers, South African cricket wee never really able to replace these players with players of the same calibre or a better one. These retirements left a huge void in the team that it was literally impossible to replace them. South Africa dominated the game for about 8 years in the early part of this millennium. They are the only team to beat Australia in Australia on three successive occasions. Yet, they are also the only team, among the top nations in the world, without a World Cup victory. Anyway, this blog is about how the year 2024 for South Africa went.
The beginning of the year
They started the year with a defeat to India at Newlands. This was a Test that will be remembered for a very longtime because it was done and dusted in a couple of days. It was probably the worst surface where a Test match between top teams could have been played. What followed was even more stunning. Cricket South Africa, decided to send a team of makeshift players to New Zealand.
Cricket South Africa, unlike their counterparts in India or England or Australia is not awash with money. They are a struggling board who finds it difficult to pay the bills. An Indian tour has always been their saviour. It is understandable if Cricket South Africa decided to give less priority to Test and more to white-ball cricket. Afterall, it is ODIs and T20s that sells in that country. For a cash strapped board, the income that these games generate is much more valuable. Test cricket is slowly and definitely losing its appeal across the board. Hardly anyone watches Test cricket outside of The Big 3. South Africa is not an exception. What however surprised everyone was the South African team to New Zealand. It is rare to see 7-8 debutants in the same Test. Not unless if it was the nation’s first Test.
Only challenge
South Africa selected a severely under-strength and as expected, lost the series 0-2. It was a calculated gamble. They knew that they needed their main players for SA20 to satisfy the sponsors and the franchises. At the back of their mind, they also knew that the schedule favoured them with a lone exception in Bangladesh. It is amazing to realise that their biggest challenge of the cycle was the away tour of Bangladesh because South Africa have not been having a solid tour of the sub-continent for more than 5 years.
They realised that they will win in West Indies and a couple of home series in the offing, the board and the team management took a huge gamble against New Zealand. The result, South Africa lost their first ever series to New Zealand. Though it cannot be called as a brave call, the demands of the situation made CSA take such drastic measures.
High of the season
Certainly, the victory against Pakistan that ensured their qualification for the WTC Finals at Lord’s in 2025. The joyous scenes at the end of the game, clearly showed what it meant for them. It must be remembered that South Africa have never qualified for the finals of any Cricket World Cup until 2024. Suddenly, within the space of 6 months, have did that twice. Pakistan and Sri Lanka were never expected to scare them but the sweep of the summer with 4 wins is something the team led by Temba Bavuma will remember.
South African pitch curators must resist from preparing pitches that favour their fast bowlers overly. Just like how India prepares turning tracks, which narrows the gap between the Indian spinners and the spinners from the opposition, the pitches in South Africa narrows the gap between their fast bowlers and the fast bowlers of the opponents. The curator somewhat rectified that against Pakistan in the 2nd Test in which the batsmen for once, piled on the runs to the tune of more than 600 runs. In the end, they won because of their superior bowling attack.
Low of the season
The heartbreak against India at the T20 World Cup. Never before has a South African team reached the finals of a World Cup. At the West Indies, they were about the make history but a brilliant spell by Bumrah stood between what could have been South Africa’s first World Cup victory.
Best performer of the season
Temba Bavuma. Eversince he made his debut, there were a lot of comments that the only reason he is in the team is because he is black. For several years, Bavuma proved them right. He couldn’t score runs and he couldn’t bowl either. To make matters worse, he even became the captain of the white-ball team with hardly a game to bludgeon the ball. All seems to have changed in 2024. Bavuma had the best year of his career so far. He is also developing if not a world-beating side, a tight unit that is capable of giving the higher ranked teams, a run for their money.
Wrapping up 2024 for South Africa
Can South Africa go one up and make 2025 as the best year since their readmission? They have a tough task against Australia who are a much better team than South Africa. Some or all of the South Africans must play in a few County games to prepare for the final.
2024 for Australiahttps://icricketcritique.com/2024-for-australia/