It was painful to watch the Proteas slump to yet another defeat. After cussing AB for what must rate as one of the silliest ways to get out, I wondered if perhaps a visit to the sangoma by upper echelons of South African cricket had yielded some undesired effects. Dressing room muti gone wrong?

There is just no way we can naturally be this useless. Like sluggish automatons, we just cannot seem to put a more virile approach to our batting. We’ve been woeful this tournament. Sure, our bowling hasn’t been brilliant. Langeveldt and Steyn are head and shoulders above the rest of the attack but our batting line up should be backing themselves to go after any score. Instead, we slur and stutter and slither away cowardly. After the first defeat to India, we put on our characteristically South African smiles beamed the hope of the nation and reassuringly told each other that we could only improve from that. Instead, we’ve managed only a victory against lowly Afghanistan and another against New Zealand.

On paper we have a fantastic team. Exceptionally talented batsmen, highly rated bowlers, one of the best fielding teams in the world, but the old adage that the game is not played on paper rings true. Graeme Smith is being quoted in the papers saying changes have to be rung to the team. Changes have to be rung to our approach too. Where’s the guts? So you lose a wicket, or two in the powerplay but this is twenty over cricket we cannot consolidate for the next five overs. And yes, easy for me to say from my armchair but something, something has to change boys.

Just the other day, I met an exceptionally smart man, different to the breed of smarties I know in that his smartness is exercised in business and not academe. I was awe struck by his knowledge, his ideas, his opinions, his drive. If he weren’t already married I would consider myself smitten. I admiringly remarked to his friend, ‘What a smart man! He’s definitely going places’ And I was told matter-of-factly, ‘It’s not just that he’s smart, he’s got the guts to see his ideas through. He backs himself. We’ve all got the ideas but he’s brave enough to make them happen.’ And that, dear readers, is what South Africa has failed to do in this tournament. Our batters have not backed themselves sufficiently. We have the talent, I don’t think we can doubt our talent, but we’re stuttering, stumbling and getting to twenty overs with a bag full of wickets in hand but eleven runs short.

Forward to the tour of the West Indies, let’s hope we get ourselves sorted out. Forever Proteas.