Mark Boucher reflects on South Africa's humiliating T20 World Cup 2022 exit

South Africa are out of the World Cup (Source: AP)

South Africa crashed out of the T20 World Cup 2022 earlier today. 

Netherlands picked up a 13 run win over the Proteas to send them crashing out of the showpiece event in Australia. 

The Proteas have often been labelled as chokers for their tendency to underperform in the biggest of stages and it was no different as the players were punished for their lacklustre efforts in the field against a spirited Dutch outfit. 

South African coach Mark Boucher has now reflected on the defeat against Netherlands. He believes that the players were lacking in energy from the start and underperformed both with the bat and the ball.

He said: “I can honestly look at my coaching staff and say we’ve ticked every box we needed to tick. Sometimes you can control things, other times you’re not. The guys were in good space, I think we played some good cricket over a long period of time, we slipped up the other night against Pakistan, and we looked flat today. I don't think we over-trained. The energies didn’t seem like it was there today, and we didn’t bowl or bat like we should have”

At the start of the tournament, South Africa were tipped as one of the teams capable of going all the way. They picked up impressive wins against heavyweights like India as well. The players will feel that this was a missed opportunity for them. They were just three wins from winning the World Cup. 

Meanwhile, Boucher also reflected on South Africa's record of choking in World Cups. 

He said (h/t IOL): “I think the more you don’t do well at World Cups, it tends to play in your head a little bit. But I think each one is an individual event, I know there is a lot of history behind South African cricket and a World Cup event. But I don’t think that was the case of late. We have played some tight games in the World Cup and actually won them.

“The last World Cup I thought we played very good cricket. We lost one game and got knocked out. This time around, if you had told us we needed to beat Netherlands to get into a semi-final we would have taken that. These things happen. It's not the only upset that has happened in the tournament.”

Also Read: Tom Moody pinpoints South Africa's weak link following World Cup exit