Player ratings: How the Proteas fared at the T20 World Cup
· Citizen
Entering the semifinals at the T20 World Cup, the Proteas had gone unbeaten, and while they were crushed by New Zealand in their play-off clash, they dominated the tournament ahead of the knockout stages.
We rate each of the players in the national squad who competed at the biennial showpiece in India.
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Aiden Markram (9/10)
The top-order batter led from the front, showing his class not only as a player but as the captain of the side.
When Markram hit his straps, the rest of the team fed off him, and he did well to bash 286 runs in eight games at a strike rate of 165.31, including three half-centuries.
Quinton de Kock (6/10)
After returning to the national side last year, De Kock had been superb, and he was expected to be a standout performer at the global spectacle.
He was not at his best, however, contributing 181 runs with only one fifty, though his presence in the squad would have been valuable behind the scenes.
Ryan Rickelton (7/10)
Like De Kock, fellow top-order batter Rickelton made only one half-century, but he performed consistently well and made some valuable contributions.
He hit more than 30 runs in five of the Proteas’ eight games, racking up a total of 228 throughout the tournament at an impressive strike rate of 170.14.
Dewald Brevis (6/10)
As the team’s X-factor player, a lot was expected from the big-hitting batter, who can take the game away from any team when he’s at his best.
His overall performance was rather average but he was consistent, making 207 runs at a strike rate of 146.80. He just didn’t stand up the way we know he can.
David Miller (7/10)
The experienced middle-order batter hit 174 runs at an average of 58.00 and a strike rate of 155.35.
He delivered in a crunch Super Eight match against India, smashing 63 off 35 to lead a middle-order recovery, and he was superb in the double super over victory against Afghanistan in the group stages.
Tristan Stubbs (6/10)
Stubbs was quite consistent, but he wasn’t great, contributing 135 runs in six innings at a relatively unimpressive strike rate (135.00) for a middle-order player.
He played a key role alongside Miller in the win over India, and again under pressure in the clash against Afghanistan, but he wasn’t as influential as he might have liked.
Marco Jansen (7/10)
Jansen played a key role as a frontline bowler but he wasn’t very consistent.
He was quite expensive, but the lanky all-rounder took 11 wickets in six games, and in the semifinal against New Zealand he hit 55 not out with the bat in a futile attempt to keep the Proteas in the hunt.
Corbin Bosch (8/10)
Forming an important part of an impressive seam attack, Bosch grabbed 11 scalps at an economy rate of 7.64 in the seven matches he played.
The all-rounder didn’t get many opportunities with the bat, playing too far down the order to make a difference, but he was sufficiently useful with ball in hand.
Kagiso Rabada (3/10)
The fast bowler’s main role in the team was to take wickets, and he simply didn’t deliver.
In seven matches Rabada took just five scalps, and though he was impressive in the Super Eight win over West Indies (taking 2/22), he didn’t do much else in a campaign he might rather forget.
Keshav Maharaj (4/10)
Despite competing in sub-continent conditions, the only specialist spinner in the Proteas’ first-choice XI didn’t play a frontline role, as they turned to their seamers to carry the attack.
In six matches, Maharaj took five wickets at an economy rate of 8.52, and the experienced slow bowler was uncharacteristically unimpressive throughout the tournament.
Lungi Ngidi (9/10)
Showcasing his tremendous versatility, Ngidi was lethal, particularly with the slower ball.
He was the national team’s leading wicket taker, securing 12 scalps in seven games at an economy rate of 7.19, and he was the only member of the squad to earn two Player of the Match awards (against Canada and Afghanistan in the group stages).
Other players
The other four members of the squad – batter Jason Smith, all-rounder George Linde, and fast bowlers Kwena Maphaka and Anrich Nortje – played only one or two matches each during the competition.
It seems unreasonable to rate them without receiving sufficient opportunities, so we’ll let them slide without judging their performances.