South Africa stumped by the fear factor
As a nation attempts to come to terms with yet another World Cup disappointment, in The Times Live Luke Alfred searches for the reasons behind South Africa's nervous capitulations
Liam Brickhill
25-Feb-2013
As a nation attempts to come to terms with yet another World Cup disappointment, in The Times Live Luke Alfred searches for the reasons behind South Africa's nervous capitulations. The problems, he believes, are psychological.
Not for the first time, the Proteas were unable to scale an awkward peak when they had sometimes managed to scale peaks far higher. In a creepy repeat of the England game in Chennai, a challenging, but by no means impossible, target initially seemed within their scope. Then wickets crashed, the ball softened, and panic set in. Psychologists call it the return of the repressed.
Suddenly all of the team's demons stood alongside them out in the middle. With little horns and red tails, they mocked their every move and watched perversely as they bottled it.
Liam Brickhill is a freelance journalist based in Cape Town