Rainbow nation on cloud nine

by Rex Clementine

South Africa have won a record fourth Rugby World Cup beating the All Blacks in a nail-biter in Paris. Can their cricket team follow suit is the question many are asking in India.

The South African cricket team is known as Proteas while their rugby team is called the Springboks. Both have had contrasting results in World Cups. While the Springboks have reached four World Cup finals and won all four of them, the Proteas haven’t even reached the finals once despite entering multiple tournament (1996, 1999 and 2003) as firm favourites.

The Springboks didn’t compete in the first two World Cups as South Africa were alienated by rest of the world for their government’s apartheid policies. To win four out of the next eight tournaments is a remarkable achievement.

Time was when Springboks were a symbol of racism as rugby was exclusively a white man’s sport. But over the years, blacks have embraced the sport as well and today South African rugby captain is a black – Siya Kolisi.

White South Africans tend to move out of the country to other parts of the world as the quota systems operating in sports promotes black players, but that doesn’t seem to stop them from winning World Cups.

South Africa is a country that is mad about sports. They have top notch facilities with mega stadiums and training facilities. The development programs which various sports bodies run help them to identify talents early and their scientific approach to coaching isn’t far behind Australia.

A country that promotes sports to maintain healthy lifestyles, you see lot of South Africans involved in sports well past their prime.

Most South Africans would have watched their team win the world title with a ‘braai’ – a term used in South Africa for barbecue. They’ll be doing the same over the next three weeks hoping that their cricket team does something remarkable.

South African cricket team is a side that has all bases covered. Solid top order, big hitting middle order, genuine all-rounders, mean fast bowlers and crafty spinners. They have always had fabulous sides but at the sport’s biggest stage find ways to lose games in dramatic styles. In cricketing terms, their team is called, ‘chokers’. They nearly choked against Pakistan in Madras the other night. It is a popular belief that when put under pressure, South Africans fails to deliver. Everyone remembers Kumar Sangakkara’s famous sledge to South African captain Shaun Pollock in 2003 knock out in Durban, ‘Weight of expectations of 42 million South Africans on the captain.’

But boy, what cricketing talents they have got. They are a dangerous side as Sri Lanka found out in this World Cup in their opening game in Delhi. They are also unpredictable as they proved by losing to Netherlands. They are through to the semis and in the process have beaten some big teams – Australia, England and Pakistan.

Spending time in the press box during mega cricket events you also meet many current and former greats who have made watching the sport a pleasant experience.

Match Referee Javagal Srinath pops up to the press box during the England – Sri Lanka game to have a word to some reporters he knows. The game is played in his hometown of Bangalore and many are his friends in the media.

Srinath is a fine man and Sri Lanka were lucky that he was Match Referee in 2018 when they tampered with the ball and then brought the game to disrepute by failing to take to the field.

There is also Dinesh Karthik who enjoys curd rice in the dining area. You wonder whether he is vegetarian, but that he is not. ‘This brings the South Indian in me,’ he says before reminding that curd rice ideally should be consumed by hand and not spoon.

Karthik is a fabulous character, and he remains quite popular in Sri Lanka for that last ball six against Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy final in 2018.

A lot was expected of him when he made his India debut at Lord’s aged 19, but then, a few years down the line came a wicket keeper called M.S. Dhoni and Karthik’s opportunities were limited.

Karthik has endured a lot more off the field than on the field. Post retirement he is making good progress as a commentator and genuine folks like him should go onto have successful careers.

Having listened to top class commentators of yesteryear like Richie Benaud, Ian Chappell and Tony Greig you feel like the current lot are nowhere near to them. But guys like Karthik, Michael Atherton and Sunil Gavaskar are fun to listen to. You just wish that Gavaskar would tell you more old stories. There’s no better storyteller in cricket than him.