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South Africa have a history of failing to deliver at World Cups, failing to progress beyond the semi-finals of both the 50-over event and the T20 version.
In Australia, they will hope that the potentially devastating batting of Quinton de Kock and David Miller can deliver consistently, while Rilee Rossouw has made a positive return to the side and 22-year-old Tristan Stubbs has emerged as a top prospect.
But it is their highly regarded bowling attack that gives them a real chance of success.
Image Credit: T20 World Cup
Marco Jansen has been added to a squad that already includes Indian Premier League regulars Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, replacing the injured Dwaine Pretorius.
“Australia will match our fast bowlers,” coach Mark Boucher said. “We’ve got some good tempo, some good bounce in our offense, so we’ve got to keep the aggression there.”
Spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi have proved an excellent foil and are ranked among the top 10 T20 bowlers by the International Cricket Council.
Although there is much reason for optimism, South Africa enter the tournament with their captain Temba Bavuma out of form.
Image Credit: T20 World Cup
His low strike rate in T20 cricket and failure with the bat in both T20 and One Day Internationals in the warm-up series in India in recent weeks have put question marks over his place in the team.
The 32-year-old also suffered the embarrassment of being overlooked in the auction for the new South African T20 league, which starts in January, with none of the six franchises opting to sign him.
Boucher, who will step down as coach after the tournament, said Bavuma must find form before the World Cup tournament.
“We’ll try to get him going again and get him in the nets and hopefully give him a knock or two before the World Cup starts and see where he’s at,” he added.
“He is the captain and we treat him as such.”
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