Johannesburg – Mathematically the Proteas can still automatically qualify for the 50-over Cup, but a packed summer schedule – that includes the new SA20 tournament – could see the country’s top players not involved in crucial matches involving England and the Netherlands.
The Proteas are due to play both countries in their five remaining ICC Super League fixtures. The Super League – which will be done away with for the 2027 tournament cycle – will determine the top seven teams that will join hosts India in qualifying automatically for the Cup next year.
The rest will go into a qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in June, where the top two teams will gain the remaining berths for the 50-over showpiece.
Following the series loss to a second-string India side, the Proteas remain in 11th place on the Super League table, on 59 points, 29 points behind the West Indies, who currently occupy that eighth spot. Victory in three of their remaining matches would be enough to get South Africa above the West Indies, but they will need to hope that Sri Lanka slip up in the series they have against Afghanistan and New Zealand.
The Sri Lankans currently have 62 points, and if they win five of their remaining six matches they will finish ahead of the Proteas, even if Temba Bavuma’s men maintain a perfect record in their remaining five matches. Ireland too remain in contention for a top eight spot, needing to win all three matches against Bangladesh in May next year.
One of the many problems for South Africa is that the series with current Cup holders England, coincides with the SA20 tournament, and how many of the country’s frontline players will be available is unknown. The tournament starts on January 10, but a final schedule has still not been released.
The England series starts on January 27 and runs until February 1, which means it could take place when the play-offs of that tournament are on the go, and it’s unlikely the owners of those franchises will want to release players.
The matches against the Netherlands are on March 31 and April 2, when most of the country’s big names are likely to be in India for the Indian Premier League.
“We know what is required and will know what is required come January against England and then the Netherlands,” the Proteas’s out-going head coach Mark Boucher said on Tuesday.
“We have to win those games. And if we don’t then we have to accept the fact that we have to go and qualify for the next Cup. We understand the situation we are in and will just have to man up and face that when it comes our way.”
The Proteas are in a pickle. Given the team’s history on paper, South Africa would be expected to get through that pre-qualifier tournament. However, as last year’s defeat to Ireland and the home series loss to Bangladesh showed, South Africa’s One-Day side is alarmingly inconsistent, and so nothing can be taken for granted.
https://www.icc-cricket.com/cricket-world-cup-super-league/standings
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