The Americans would be forgiven for pinching themselves. Few would have expected them to reach this stage of the men’s T20 World Cup. Yet there they are, among the elated eight teams who remain in the running and not one of the disappointed dozen who exited after the group games.
They had a little help from a washout against Ireland in Lauderhill on Friday. Perhaps the small Florida city should be renamed Laundryhill – three of the four games scheduled there suffered the same fate.
That’s not to cast aspersions on the United States’ progression. They hammered Canada in the tournament opener and then held their nerve to overcome Pakistan in a Super Over. Let there be no doubt that they are a proud and resourceful team.
Is it too much to hope that they could add South Africa to their list of felled giants in their match in North Sound on Wednesday? Probably, but no doubt many Pakistanis thought that before their bubble burst.
Besides, it’s not as if the South Africans have been convincing. Batting conditions have been difficult, but that does not explain why they struggled to beat the Netherlands and Nepal. Although they have reeled off four consecutive wins, not one of them has been comfortably done. Their batting line-up might feel exposed and fragile as a consequence – which makes this the perfect time for them to be picked off by unfancied opponents.
And unfancied the Americans surely are. Saurabh Netravalkar is having a fairytale tournament and counts Mohammad Rizwan, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma among his wickets. He will need to be at least as good, and solidly supported, to be part of a victory. Similarly, Aaron Jones, Andries Gouws and Monank Patel will need to deliver the kind of batting that has earned them half-centuries.
That said, David Miller is South Africa’s sole half-centurion. But Anrich Nortje, Ottneil Baartman and Keshav Maharaj have all taken more wickets than Netravalkar.
Many will be rooting, as Americans would say, for a shock result. South Africans might be among them. Because that could, the theory will go, jolt Aiden Markram’s team out of their strange and troubling batting funk. Rather now than when it really matters.
When: South Africa vs United States, June 19, 2PM GMT, 10.30AM Local, 4.30PM SAST, 8PM IST
Where: Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua
What to expect: A hot, humid day with a slight chance of a shower in the evening. Namibia were bowled out for 72 here and Oman for 47, but they were facing Australia and England.
Head to head in T20 World Cups: 0-0
Team Watch:
South Africa:The focus will be squarely on the batting line-up and whether it finally has its ducks in a row, but in a good way.
Tactics & Matchups: If South Africa want to see what a difference a second specialist spinner might make, this game is their safest way of finding out.
Probable XI: Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Ottneil Baartman, Tabraiz Shamsi
United States: Monank Patel is likely to return from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the match against India in Nassau County on Wednesday.
Tactics & Matchups: How the top order fares against South Africa’s classy quicks will dictate the quality of the Americans’ challenge.
Probable XI: Monank Patel (c), Steven Taylor, Andries Gous, Aaron Jones, Nitish Kumar, Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Jasdeep Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan
Did you know?
– These teams have never played each other in any format.
– A win for South Africa will be their fifth straight in the tournament, more than they have achieved consecutively in any other edition of the T20 World Cup.
– The US have won three of the eight T20Is they’ve played against ICC full members.
What they said:
“As a batter you want to go out there and score runs, and then you get the pitches we’ve played on. It can be frustrating, but it seems that’s the nature of the pitches. So we kind of have to be okay with it. The bowlers are doing a really good job for us. Hopefully we get better pitches and the batters can score some runs and win games for the team.” – Reeza Hendricks bemoans the state of the tournament’s surfaces so far.
“We’ve been speaking about playing in the World Cup and playing more games against the full member nations. And here we are doing it. Qualifying for the Super Eights is a big thing not just for us, but also for the fans and the younger generation in America.” – Aaron Jones on the US’ suddenly brave new world.
