Tell Us About Your Favorite International Cricket Team : South Africa
South Africa was one of the favorites at the 2003 World Cup, however they were eliminated by one run in the group stages after erroneously counting the amount of runs required. They have also received negative attention for missing crucial matches at major events such as the 2002 ICC Champions Cup and the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.
With the arrival of top-tier players such as AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla, South Africa's cricket team has begun to climb the ICC rankings. After most of the great players that controlled the Australian team in the early 2000s retired, the ICC Test Championship was a wide open competition in which India and England had short spells as the number one side.
South Africa toured the United Kingdom for a three-test series in 2012, and the winner will undoubtedly be world number one. South Africa easily won the series 2-0, claiming and keeping the top rank. As of August 20, 2012, over a complete calendar year. South Africa became the first team to be ranked top in all three variants of the game eight days later, on August 28, 2012.
South Africa defeated Australia in a Test series in February 2014, becoming the world's favourite to win. The series was won by Australia, 2-1. Later in the year, South Africa would reclaim the top rank. South Africa is rated sixth in Test Cricket as of May 4, 2020.
ODI and T20I performances were notably less consistent during this time of testing supremacy as South Africa sought a winning formula ahead of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 and 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. A major ODI series loss to New Zealand in January 2013, as well as another loss to Sri Lanka, highlighted South Africa's recent struggles. Exits from the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy
The trophy only served to strengthen South Africa's reputation as a "choker" in important events. In the closing years of Smith's career, the South African captaincy was split between the ODI and T20I formats of the game, with AB de Villiers leading the ODI side and Faf du Plessis leading the T20I side. Following Smith's retirement, Hashim Amla was named test captain, and he led his team to victory in his first off-duty test in Galle, Sri Lanka.
South Africa has a track record of failing to win world cups and is so heavily criticised. For example, the 1992 Cricket World Cup had a rain-affected Semi-final match played prior to the Duckworth–Lewis rain rule. When the rain came, South Africa needed 22 runs from 13 balls. They were left in a scenario where they needed 22 laps from a ball to progress after the delay.
Despite being one of the unusual teams and winning their group in 1996, they were ousted in the quarter-finals. South Africa lost in the semi-finals to eventual champions Australia in 1999. The game concluded in a draw, with both South Africa and Australia leading 213, but Australia went to the Final because they placed higher in their group than South Africa.
South Africa hosted the 2003 Cricket World Cup, but failed to advance past the group stage due to a misunderstanding about how many runs they needed to score in a rain-soaked running chase. Shaun Pollock resigned as captain as a result, and was replaced by teenage batsman Graeme Smith, but Pollock continued to play for the side.
South Africa had some success under Smith's guidance, albeit it was handicapped by the retirement of several notable players, including quick shooter Allan Donald and one-day specialist Jonty Rhodes. As a result, they only had a terrible win against the Windies in 2004.
They enjoyed a roller coaster ride in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, with overwhelming wins over England, the West Indies, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland, as well as a tight win over Sri Lanka, but it cost them a number one ranking after destroying New Zealand and Bangladesh.
Then, in the semi-finals, they made a World Cup record with the lowest score ever in a World Cup, as Australia beat them by 149 points and 7 wickets. South Africa hosted another great triumph over India in the 2011 World Cup.