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And today, we’re delving into a curious pattern that’s emerged in South Africa’s recent matches – the mysterious big red button that reads, “Don’t let us bat first.”
It is as straightforward as that. The Dutch cricket team pulled off a remarkable victory against South Africa at the T20 World Cup just last year, a win that knocked the Proteas out of the playoffs. And here’s the twist – they batted second in that match.
There’s a hidden cheat sheet on defeating South Africa, and it seems to be making its way into the playbook in multiple editions. Could this be the key to unlocking South Africa’s vulnerabilities?
The rain played a spoilsport AGAIN! When it started raining, I knew South Africa would face an uphill battle to beat the odds.
The match was reduced to 43 overs per side due to rain; you could say this shouldn’t affect the match, but it did. It’s adding three overs to two 20-20 games.
I know it’s a long stretch.
The entire SA batting collapsed; we saw this coming at some point in the tournament, a top team having jitters. The only two batters, Maharaj and Miller, were the only ones who crossed the 40 mark. At some point, I thought Miller would make a big 100+ score and win it for the Proteas.
Some wickets that the Netherlands bowlers took showed absolute class. Van Meekren bowled two cross-seam deliveries, and they just snuck through beautifully, lighting up the stumps!
van der Merwe took two wickets for three runs with his first eight balls in South Africa’s run chase. Colin Ackermann and Paul van Meekeren left South Africa and were left at 44 for 4. That Bavuma wicket was one for the ages. And we could watch Rassie’s wicket again and again!
The SA bowling hasn’t been tested so far. Today, they seemed like a breeze, but towards the middle and end, they got smashed. It seemed a little strange that the only variation they had in their kitty was slow balls. I think just in the last 10-12 overs, they bowled about 30 slow balls.
And 32 extras! A team sitting at the table can’t be bowling that many amenities. They have a lot to work on coming in for the next match.
The Dutch middlemen always show up. This is one-day cricket! The middle order just holding it together; the captain did his part.
They were 50 for 4, then somehow crawled to 140 for 7. Then the last nine overs looked a t20 watch and piled on 105 runs thanks to Edwards, who finished on 78 not out off 69 deliveries, van der Merwe with 29 off 19, and Aryan Dutt with 23 off 9 to set a target of 246 that had seemed so unlikely when South Africa’s pace quartet of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, and Lungi Ngidi set about their work
They started with an off-spinner. Everyone was wondering and commenting, but they did what they had to do! It was unconventional for him to start with spinners, and everyone considered it an unwise decision.
Scott Edwards’ rousing unbeaten half-century gave his bowlers belief, and they shot for the stars, demolishing South Africa’s storied batting line-up to hand Netherlands a historic World Cup victory.
He sweeps like a dream. I get that the Netherlands is a new team, but someone should’ve researched that this guy sweeps and sweeps well, and they didn’t get him out today.
Even his reverse sweep sneaked through 2 fielders.
The Dutch played like a team. They had a clear direction of what every player was supposed to do! More than anything, there was hunger in the team. I’ve been watching all their games, and I’ve seen that they never let you get a win over them that easily. The games with Pakistan and New Zealand were competitive matches. I feel that O’Dowd and Singh need a good start, which will make a huge difference; even a 50 partnership with the openers will set a good morale for the team.
Today, they went from 50/4 to 246 off 43 overs; that’s a solid score against a devilish bowling attack. Have you seen that new kid Coetze run in?
I was just looking into their players. They’re all part-timers; maybe now they are hired by the board full-time, but Scotty Edwards was an electrician in Melbourne and played county cricket. Roelof van der Merwe played for South Africa, and they just got rid of him. I saw that old from Paul van Meekeren where he was missing the 2020 WC and had to take up an Uber delivery job. Aryan Dutt was born in Dutch land to immigrant parents and Teja Nidamanuru, another Indian immigrant; I was actually at the game when they played New Zealand in Hyderabad, and his grandparents and extended family traveled from the nearest small town in Andhra Pradesh. This team’s story is a movie script in the making, like Cool Runnings.
This unconventional team had strategies; I think they’re smart enough to play their strengths and forget about their weaknesses. I saw Chris O’Dowd got a note just before Klassen was dismissed. I know what that note said: “Make him reverse sweep?”
The Netherlands kept it simple and clinical and just did what was necessary! It would’ve been a moral victory if the South Africans weren’t all out, but Van Beek offered a way out, and Scott Edwards, who was swaying leg side, made a quick switch and took a comfortable glove a catch. And makes way for another historic win.
Keep flying, Dutchmen!
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