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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town - South Africa’s insipid one-day international start to the 2009/10 season on home soil, with one win to show from four outings against major powers, is hardly the sort of form they seek in the lead-up to the next World Cup in early 2011.
Disregarding the predictable 2-0 downing of minnows Zimbabwe recently, the Proteas have lost to both Sri Lanka and England in the Champions Trophy, beaten New Zealand for a brief ray of light in the same competition, and now trail 1-0 to England in a bilateral series after a rare old drubbing at Centurion on Sunday.
Considering that they finished last summer so satisfyingly, seeing off Australia 3-2 to complete a summer ODI series double over them, their slip from the top of the ICC rankings to third at present is both a little perplexing and disturbing.
What’s more, they are staring down the barrel of surrendering a proud home ODI record, where they have never failed to beat any nation barring Australia in a strictly one-on-one series here.
With the present series reduced to four matches after the Wanderers washout, Graeme Smith’s team must now seek three wins on the trot against England, starting at Newlands on Friday, to keep that landmark intact.
The Proteas have lost to Australia twice in ODI series in South Africa, 5-1 in 2001/02 and 4-3 in 1996/97.
On the two other occasions in which they have locked horns, it was a thrilling 4-4 in 1993/94 and 3-2 to South Africa in 2005/06, when they secured the honours via the immortal “438 game” in Johannesburg.
The Proteas have thus been victorious against all comers here, including Australia, since the 2001/02 humiliation, an occasion which shows only two survivors in the present SA squad – wicketkeeper Mark Boucher and the just-recalled Herschelle Gibbs.
Jacques Kallis would have been a third, but for his series-sidelining injury.
Maybe the South Africans can take comfort from their last home ODI series against England, in 2004/05, when they bounced back for an emphatic 4-1 victory after losing the opener at the Wanderers - Kevin Pietersen’s highly-charged first appearance against the country of his birth – and tying the second in Bloemfontein.
In general terms, the Proteas tend to be sluggish starters to the home season, whether at ODI or Test level, and one convincing comeback victory for 1-1 might be all they require to finally capture some momentum.
But they need to wake up fast at Newlands, traditionally a happy hunting ground, or that opportunity to extend a distinguished home ODI record goes up in smoke ...
Cape Town - South Africa’s insipid one-day international start to the 2009/10 season on home soil, with one win to show from four outings against major powers, is hardly the sort of form they seek in the lead-up to the next World Cup in early 2011.
Disregarding the predictable 2-0 downing of minnows Zimbabwe recently, the Proteas have lost to both Sri Lanka and England in the Champions Trophy, beaten New Zealand for a brief ray of light in the same competition, and now trail 1-0 to England in a bilateral series after a rare old drubbing at Centurion on Sunday.
Considering that they finished last summer so satisfyingly, seeing off Australia 3-2 to complete a summer ODI series double over them, their slip from the top of the ICC rankings to third at present is both a little perplexing and disturbing.
What’s more, they are staring down the barrel of surrendering a proud home ODI record, where they have never failed to beat any nation barring Australia in a strictly one-on-one series here.
With the present series reduced to four matches after the Wanderers washout, Graeme Smith’s team must now seek three wins on the trot against England, starting at Newlands on Friday, to keep that landmark intact.
The Proteas have lost to Australia twice in ODI series in South Africa, 5-1 in 2001/02 and 4-3 in 1996/97.
On the two other occasions in which they have locked horns, it was a thrilling 4-4 in 1993/94 and 3-2 to South Africa in 2005/06, when they secured the honours via the immortal “438 game” in Johannesburg.
The Proteas have thus been victorious against all comers here, including Australia, since the 2001/02 humiliation, an occasion which shows only two survivors in the present SA squad – wicketkeeper Mark Boucher and the just-recalled Herschelle Gibbs.
Jacques Kallis would have been a third, but for his series-sidelining injury.
Maybe the South Africans can take comfort from their last home ODI series against England, in 2004/05, when they bounced back for an emphatic 4-1 victory after losing the opener at the Wanderers - Kevin Pietersen’s highly-charged first appearance against the country of his birth – and tying the second in Bloemfontein.
In general terms, the Proteas tend to be sluggish starters to the home season, whether at ODI or Test level, and one convincing comeback victory for 1-1 might be all they require to finally capture some momentum.
But they need to wake up fast at Newlands, traditionally a happy hunting ground, or that opportunity to extend a distinguished home ODI record goes up in smoke ...
