Forever Choke - Another failed attempt

It has been over a year since the Proteas last failed attempt at a World Cup title. I was under the impression that through the revamped ICC schedule, the IPL and domestic twenty 20 championship, South Africa would be sure favourites to clinch the title. Boy was I wrong and I guess that is a similar feeling to what other South African supporters are experiencing this morning. The Proteas began their failed attempt on a real high pegging the current title holders down at 20 for 3. Salman Butt, Khalid Latif and Mohammed Hafeez all failed with the bat for Pakistan and was truly a dream start for South Africa. The Akmal brothers thought otherwise. Graeme Smith made a costly mistake of introducing a "spinner" extremely early in the game. Umar Akmal, younger brother of Kamran, managed to seize control of the situation and take advantage of extremely wayward bowling from vd Merwe. Umar managed to score an impressive 51 from 44 balls. The Proteas attack thought they made a break through when Langeveldt removed the wicket of Umar on 138 with 2 overs remaining. Captain "Boom Boom" Afridi came to the fold and showcased the agressive talent that got him into the side at the age of 16. He blazed the field with a series of lofted cover drives, front foot punches and back foot hooks. Regrettably that was the Afridi South Africa were not prepared for. He hit four 4's and one 6. 148/6 was the final score, however was it reachable? Clearly not. The South Africans began their poor batting exhibition with the introduction of Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith. Quite a conventional opening pair, however this has not been the case in more recent competitions in the form of the IPL e.t.c Jacque Kallis has been an opener in twenty 20 for over a year and the brains trust of the South African team thought otherwise. Perhaps they wanted to incur an aggressive start to the innings. Unfortunately this was not the case as both Smith and Gibbs scored a dismal 3 and 13 respectively. Enter Jacque Kallis at number 3. He looked impressive from the get go with fluent shots on a fairly slow wicket. He was set for a big score until clipping a ball on to the toe of the bat whilst coming down the track. He was dismissed for 22 of 21 balls. de Villiers at first inspired no confidence as he was slashing at most deliveries from the Pakistani seamers. He managed to take advantage of the spinners at well as Umar Akmal. He was poised for a massive score but failed through a rash shot of the bowling of Saeed Ajmal. Boucher, Morkel and Duminy did not live up to their reputations as match winners and failed at chasing of what would have been a poultry total. Johan Botha at least had a sense of urgency and hit four 4's until he was stumped for 19 (Picture above). That left Albie Morkel at the crease with Roelof "I play with my eyes closed" vd Merwe. Morkel, our so called "big hitter" only mustered 7 runs of 7 balls in an effort of obtaining 19 runs in the last 4 balls. They couldn't do it. Pakistan managed to allow history to repeat itself. Big up to the Pakistanis as they were written off as favourites at the beginning of the tournament and have proven themselves as worthy contenders once again. Final thoughts South Africa deserved to lose - Rather cruel, I know. But Corrie van Zyl and the coaching staff should go with a strategy that works, not one that's experimental. Players that should be dropped: Roelof vd Merwe - He sucks. Albie Morkel - Overrated. Supposed big hitter is very unpredictable with the bat but fails to amaze most opposing teams let alone me. Herschelle Gibbs - Great Fielder, in fact he took 8 catches in 3 games at the point position. However with the bat, he has not produced competitive totals. At 35, this is more than likely the last World Twenty 20 tournament he will play. Loots Bosman - A highly aggressive batsman and one who should have made the side 3 years ago has not produced the goods against India and Afghanistan. He will be sorely missed :) Possible replacements Rusty Theron - Speed, Length and the fury of legendary bowlers like Allan Donald and Andy Roberts, its a flippin wonder why this golden boy wasn't selected for any of the preliminary games. He is definitely a contender in my books and Cricket SA should be ashamed of themselves for not including him. Morne van Wyk - I reckon he is South African Adam Gilchrist. An aggressive wicket keeper batsman is exactly what one needs to complement a Twenty 20 squad. Without a component like this one its similar to driving a car without any wheel bearings! Hes not the youngest bloke around, but played more Twenty 20 cricket than good old Bouch. Hashim Amla - Now theres a lot of confusion regarding this bloke. Test batsman, yes. ODI, yes. So again the brains trust of Cricket SA fails to make me understand as to why he is not eligible for Twenty 20? Hashim may not be the most aggressive batsman, but hes got the composure that the so called aggressors lack. In fact he is essence a better batsman than Smith, Duminy, Gibbs and de Villiers. In lehmans terms, Amla does not choke! Gulam Bodi - Great opening bat for the Titans and fantastic team player. He has assisted the development of most upcoming players from the Titans franchise. He would have been a better pick than Loots Bosman. Riley Rossouw - A really young SA talent residing in the Eagles camp. This youngster has got most textbook shots in his artillery which is also a dangerous component to have in any twenty 20 team. He is a potential match winner and should be groomed to facilitate the roles failed by JP, Herschelle and AB. Imran Tahir - If he gets selected, he will be SA's first ever spinner. Don't look at me like that. Botha and Roelof claim to be spinners but unfortunately fail to turn the ball as well as this bloke. Imran, a former Pakistani citizen now an SA resident who is on the verge of getting SA citizenship is a player full of promise.