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NEIL MANTHORP: Maybe we won’t win the World Cup after all
There is less expectation, and less pressure on the Proteas after so many false predictions as favourites in the past
Every Cricket World Cup it’s the same old story, right? Huge hype, great expectation followed by stinging disappointment. The public cheering fans become sneering cynics and the players, having given their all and felt the backlash of failure far more deeply than any of their fans, receive messages saying they’re rubbish. That’s only half the truth. The sad part. The other part involves the preparation of the players and what they and their coaches and management have done to try to make this time different. An awful lot of time and effort has gone into it and many solutions to recurring questions have been tried. They tried denying their status as favourites in 1999 and attempted to fly their Air Force Hercules under the radar. Hansie Cronje was adamant that it was a tournament to be contested by 11 players and that they would only be replaced in the event of serious injury. The enormity of the team’s status made a mockery of any claims to underdoggery but Lance Klusener so nearly ...
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