Rating South Africa’s Chances at the T20 World Cup

South Africa’s cricketers have been taking on the West Indies in what has been a largely successful tour so far. Dean Elgar’s side were comfortable winners in the test series but the hosts have proved to be more formidable opponents in the short form of the game.

As is often the case, South African cricket seems to be going through something of a transitional period at the moment. Former captain Faf Du Plessis has recently retired from the test arena while Quinton De Kock has returned to the side while relieving himself of his own captaincy duties.

It isn’t ideal preparation for the T20 World Cup which begins in the UAE in October but, South Africa will generally be competitive in the short form. The question is, can they finally win their first major ICC trophy later this year?

South Africa Ranked

Neutral observers aren’t offering South African fans too much hope in terms of world cup glory. The sports betting companies are usually good judges in this respect and the bookmakers attached to sbo.net currently list India as favourites to lift the trophy while reigning 50-over World Champions England are close behind.

Australia and New Zealand are next followed by West Indies and Pakistan. Eventually, the market comes to South Africa who are rated as a distant seventh favourite for T20 World Cup success.

All teams taking part in the tournament will be involved in further international matches ahead of the tournament and those odds are subject to change. SBO are on top of things and their affiliated sportsbooks will be on hand to update the market for the 2021 World Cup as things alter.

News on the tournament will also appear, together with opinion pieces on cricket as a whole. Finally, any readers who are happy to take things a step further can access that panel of bookmakers, many of whom will have welcome offers in place. Strong customer service and a range of funding options completes their list of services.

It’s a useful website for all cricket followers but should they be putting their faith in South Africa in 2021?

Key Batsmen

The current tour of the West Indies offers a clear insight into South Africa’s chances this year. Interestingly, the first three T20 World Cup matches have all been very similar with South Africa making scores in the 160s on each occasion.

Naturally, Quinton De Kock is the man that everyone looks to as an explosive player who commands an expensive IPL contract with Mumbai Indians. The wicket keeper-batsman hasn’t disappointed with initial scores of 37 and 26, followed by a blistering 72 from 51 balls in the third game.

QUINTON DE KOCK
QUINTON DE KOCK” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by NAPARAZZI

Another top order player who could have a big part to play in the UAE is Rassie van der Dussen. In contrast to batsmen such as De Kock and David Miller, van der Dussen has a more patient approach to run scoring. He can up the tempo at times but his regular style of play means that he can be moved around the order depending on the state of the game.

Van Der Dussen has also enjoyed a solid series against the Windies, making an unbeaten 56 in the first game. Elsewhere, Reeza Hendricks and the skipper Temba Bavuma have also made useful batting contributions.

Bowlers Under the Spotlight

South Africa’s bowlers are also highly sought after by Indian Premier League franchises, especially Kagiso Rabada who is one of the best pacemen in any form of cricket. The entire bowling unit struggled in the opening game of the series, taking just two wickets, but they have responded since that point.

Rabada took three wickets in the second game of the series and he’s received effective support from George Linde and Tabraiz Shamsi who picked up subsequent Player of the Match Awards.

West Indies are the reigning T20 World Champions so a battle against this side should give us a strong insight into South Africa’s standards right now. Of course, there is the option to bring in new players ahead of the 2021 tournament and there will be inevitable questions over Faf Du Plessis and possibly even AB De Villiers.

The remainder of the T20 series and following international games will offer a greater clue but maybe the 2021 South African side is an underrated one heading into the tournament.

Image Courtesy: news24.com

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