With all they have been through in the tournament in the past it is probably fair to say that South Africa have a love-hate relationship with the event after a number of near misses. One of those came four years ago when they were beaten in the semi-final and they will be looking to go two steps better this time around.
Profile
Captain: Faf du Plessis
Previous Best: Semi-Finalists x4
Key Players: Hashim Amla & Kagiso Rabada
Best Odds: 9/1 General
Fixtures
May 30: vs England at The Oval
June 2: vs Bangladesh at The Oval
June 5: vs India at Hampshire Bowl
June 10: vs West Indies at Hampshire Bowl
June 15: vs Afghanistan at Cardiff (d/n)
June 19: vs New Zealand at Edgbaston
June 23: vs Pakistan at Lord’s
June 28: vs Sri Lanka at The Riverside
July 6: vs Australia at Old Trafford (d/n)
Squad
Faf du Plessis (c), Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, JP Duminy, Dwaine Pretorius, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Chris Morris
Team Guide
All eyes will be on the South African batsmen to see if they can put up the scores in excess of 300 regularly enough to be a contributing factor to this tournament without AB de Villiers. You would argue that they are not as strong as the side that competed four years ago so they have something to find in that regard and it will need to come with the bat if they are going to achieve anything here.
They do have a world class bowling attack but conditions here aren’t going to suit bowlers and if their attack does lack anything it is variety apart from the spin options. Their seamers are all quick bowlers who love banging it in and bowling quickly. It will be interesting to see if they have any nuances to their game to make them more competitive as we move along in the competition.
Betting
You can basically pick a bowler and get a run for your money in this South African side but nobody really stands out to me to be a particularly big price so I’m going to ignore that market and head to the batsmen one where once again we have a competitive heat but this time there is one which jumps off the screen at me.
That person is Hashim Amla who looks massive at 4/1. He might not be carrying the best form into the tournament with him, or a recent bout of time in the middle, but he is a class act who has filled his boots in England time and time again where in the South Africa shirt or his many county stints. Quinton de Kock is the favourite here but I think he’s vulnerable and du Plessis might just bat a little low and feel the heat as captain. Amla is the one who doesn’t need to take the risks that everyone bats around and that accumulation of runs can see him as the leading South African run scorer in the event.
Tips
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