KARACHI: Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith believes the current Proteas team will have a new tag of ‘the history-makers’ associated with them.

“The term ‘choke’ has various connotations and has also found significance within sports world. The history of professional sport is littered with teams and individuals that have failed to win a specific match or tournament in which they were heavily favoured, or thrown away a considerable lead or advantage to, ultimately, lose,” Smith said.

“This term has shadowed Proteas for the best part of two decades in the context of the ICC World Cup. It was spoken about when I made my debut and still about upon my retirement 12 years later,” the left-handed batsman stated.

“Regardless of whether or not the ‘chokers’ tag is justified, it is a label that the current Proteas side have to live with in preparation for the World Cup 2015. They have made peace with it given their history, but are resolute in their belief that they are on the verge of shedding this tag once and for all.

“I know that the current squad are good enough to win this year’s tournament and have I expect that they will go deep. I am hoping that come March 29, 2015, this team will have a new tag of ‘the history-makers’.

“The history of Proteas in the World Cups is recorded in cricket folklore, not for the losses themselves, but for the context of the losses. There is a certain degree of pride that can be taken as a result of the fact that for 19 years the Proteas were able to maintain a consistent standard around, leading up to, and during the respective World Cups that ensured they were always amongst the tournament favourites.

“Furthermore, I was engrossed in the World Cups of 1992, 1996 and 1999 and deliberated for ages over the manner of our respective exits even though I was still a teenager and had no direct influence over the path the team would follow thereafter.

“Ultimately, you learn to accept the outcome, move on and look to the future as player and a fan,” he added.

“I cannot deny that Proteas exited the World Cups in bizarre circumstances [Sydney 1992, Birmingham 1999 and Durban 2003] but they have also been outplayed on the day in others [Karachi 1996, St Lucia 2007 and Dhaka 2011].

“At each of these World Cups, South Africa showed good form during the event. However, I cannot categorically say that we were without doubt the best team or would absolutely have gone on to win any of the tournaments if we had got through our knock-out game. We can only surmise as to what would have been,” Smith said.

Published in Dawn January 27th, 2015

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