Pressure, Proteas uneasy bedfellows
The Nagpur “choke” is confirmation that pressure and the Proteas remain the most uncomfortable of bedfellows.
|||Johanneburg – Pressure and the Proteas remain a toxic combination. There was a moment during Friday night’s World Twenty20 clash between South Africa and the West Indies when the momentum swung towards the Proteas and the islanders were under the cosh.
In that moment, the simple pursuit of a run-a-ball target had stumbled with regular breakthroughs, and a small window was left ajar for South Africa. On the Windies bench, skipper Darren Sammy cut a nervous figure. Behind him, part-time musician and full-time entertainer Dwayne Bravo was sniggering at his discomfort, seemingly oblivious to the danger.
It was telling that, even in the eye of the storm, the West Indies still saw humour in the situation. On the opposite bench, the South African side had sat earlier, and many wore the look of a deer in the headlights, as their top-order resistance crumbled before the Powerplay was done. Of course, the security of being unbeaten meant a loss wouldn’t eliminate the Windies on Friday night, but their demeanour seldom changes according to the rhythm of the game.
By nature, Sammy and company are relaxed and seemingly oblivious to pressure. It is that fundamental difference that sees the West Indies in the last four, and the South Africans lamenting yet another doomed mission. When the crunch comes, South Africa’s inherent fear of failure rears its head up, and renders all reason useless.
There is no logical explanation for why Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock had a communication breakdown in the first over of the match. It was too early in the piece to be labelled as a dreaded “choke”, but it was incredibly out of character.
Having sailed serenely through the first six overs in the opening two games, it was illuminating that, suddenly, in the crunch fixture, the engine was spluttering in the key race. It was completely unnecessary, but that early bit of botchery sent the Proteas on their way down Misery Lane.
That single moment spoke of a weary realisation of the situation, an acknowledgement that this was a game where it was all or nothing. Traditionally, South Africa don’t deal well with such circumstances. A team blessed with talent suddenly becomes timid under the cosh. It is a weary South African tradition at tournament time, and there seems to be no end to the pain.
And there, on the other side of the turmoil, the West Indies were chuckling at the knife-edge they found themselves on. That shrug of the shoulders is not based on arrogance or bluff. It is fuelled by pure belief, even under the fiercest of furnaces. It’s clearly in Caribbean blood. Ask Viv Richards, Brian Lara and Chris Gayle. Heck, ask Usain Bolt, as he charges through a 100m finish line, thumping his chest in brazen pride, because he has delivered when the entire world is watching.
You simply cannot teach that instinct for drama, that thirst for theatre. South Africa, for all their individual talents, still struggle to collect themselves when everything is on the line. It is a brutally painful thing to observe, because the fear that things will inevitably fall apart is always there.
It was in every household on Friday night and, you fear, it was in every player. No one – save for Imran Tahir, perhaps – wanted to have the responsibility of the last rites. It is too much, be it with bat or ball, and it is a fear that has been a part of the South African do-or-die psyche since 1999.
Some will eagerly call it choking, but the simple, sorry truth is that ever since that dreaded day at Edgbaston, South Africa have not found a way to deal with the demons of a win or bust game in an ICC event. There was almost a sense of inevitability in the way it all collapsed on Friday, because their followers have become accustomed to pain.
There were no tears this time, but rather the weary confirmation that pressure and the Proteas remain the most uncomfortable of bedfellows. One day, perhaps, they will take a leaf out of the book of Sammy and his buddies, who laugh in the face of danger.