South Africa’s white-ball resurgence is one of cricket’s more confusing stories. On the one hand, they’ve beaten Australia and England in back-to-back ODI series. On the other, they’ve conceded more 350+ scores than most teams manage in a calendar year.
The raw numbers are difficult to ignore. In their last 10 ODIs, South Africa have given up four totals over 350. They’ve lost two matches by margins over 250 runs, suffered a semi-final drubbing, and watched promising young players get buried under mountains of runs. And sure, they’ve also won a couple of series. But if this is what progress looks like, it’s got a lot of collateral damage.
The 350 Club (And South Africa’s Lifetime Membership)
Let’s begin with the carnage. Here are the four totals South Africa have conceded recently:
- 362 for 6 vs New Zealand (Champions Trophy semi-final, Lahore)
- 355 for 4 vs Pakistan (Karachi)
- 431 for 2 vs Australia (Mackay)
- 414 for 5 vs England (Southampton)
Four scores. Three continents. One worrying trend. This isn’t just an off week or a blip on tour. This is a bowling unit that is increasingly unable to contain anyone, anywhere, under any conditions.
And these aren’t all full-strength opposition. Pakistan’s top order has seen better days. England’s 414 came with Jamie Smith and Jacob Bethell doing most of the damage. Australia’s 431 was powered by Cameron Green’s 47-ball ton and Travis Head in “destructive mode.” At no point has South Africa looked like they have a plan for when the top order fails and the ball stops swinging.
Excuses at the Ready — But They’re Wearing Thin
Let’s be generous. This hasn’t been South Africa’s best XI. Kagiso Rabada has played just once in these four games. Ditto for Marco Jansen. Gerald Coetzee, the snarling, chest-thumping MVP of the 2023 World Cup campaign, is nowhere to be seen.
Instead, the Proteas have turned to what can best be described as the “hope and see” brigade. Codi Yusuf. Corbin Bosch. Kwena Maphaka. Wiaan Mulder. Keshav Maharaj, hero of many a rescue job, has often looked like the only adult in the room.
It’s one thing to test your bench strength. It’s another to realise you may not have one.
The Death of the Middle Order As We Know It
Just when you think things couldn’t look shakier, Heinrich Klaasen retires from ODI cricket. Quietly. With a social post and not much else. Which feels fitting, really — he always looked more like a man who enjoyed batting than one who enjoyed being famous.
But it leaves a gaping hole. Klaasen was South Africa’s safety net. He made 80s look casual and 40-ball 60s look inevitable. When everyone else panicked, he didn’t. And now he’s gone.
Which brings us to David Miller. Still technically part of the squad. Still capable of ending games in three balls. But let’s be honest — who knows how much longer he’ll be around? With a 2027 World Cup on the horizon, it’s not clear whether Miller’s contract will have him playing ODIs at all, or if he’s already halfway out the door with a suitcase full of franchise contracts.
Remove Klaasen and a part-time Miller, and suddenly the youthful core of Stubbs, Brevis, Breetzke and Rickelton starts to look a lot more exposed. They’re the future, yes. But they’re also the present, and they don’t have the numbers yet to justify the pressure that’s now squarely on them.
Dead Rubbers, Dead Attitudes
The most damning part? South Africa aren’t just losing. They’re being humiliated. Twice in four games, they’ve lost by more than 250 runs. Let’s put that in context — it took them almost 30 years of ODI cricket to lose by that much the first time. Now it’s happened twice since August.
Both came in dead rubbers. After winning the series against Australia, they lost the third ODI by 276 runs. After sealing the England series, they collapsed to a 342-run defeat. Shukri Conrad called it “embarrassing.” Temba Bavuma admitted it “wasn’t good enough.” But the broader takeaway is clear: this team switches off once the trophy’s won.
That might be tolerable on a bilateral tour. But in World Cups, Champions Trophies, and tri-series finals, it’s a problem. You don’t get a pass for switching off in tournament play. Ask India in 2023. Ask New Zealand every time they’ve made a final.
Twelve Matches Left, and More Questions Than Answers
Time is now officially running out. South Africa have roughly 12 ODIs left before the 2027 World Cup. That’s all. No decade of slow build-up. No 40-match trial run. A dozen games. That’s barely enough time to pick a best XI, let alone fix systemic cracks.
The bowling unit — when fit — is fine. Rabada. Ngidi. Jansen. Maharaj. Coetzee. That’s a serious attack. But what happens if one of them pulls up lame in a semi-final? What if two of them are unavailable in a group-stage shootout?
Right now, there is no answer. The backup seamers can’t contain runs. The spinners outside of Maharaj haven’t offered control. And South Africa’s fielding, usually a hallmark, has dropped sitters at crucial moments — Jamie Smith on 23, Bethell on 44, Travis Head on 40.
As for the batting, the potential is enormous. Stubbs hits the ball as clean as anyone. Brevis has AB’s swagger, even if not yet the numbers. Breetzke is in the form of his life. Rickelton is still finding his feet. But relying on them to carry the middle overs in a knockout game without Klaasen or Miller is asking for nerves — not runs.
Best Case, Worst Case
The best-case scenario is that this team comes good — fast. Stubbs finds consistency. Brevis starts converting starts. Rickelton becomes a proper ODI opener. Jansen stays fit. Rabada leads the attack like it’s 2019 again. Coetzee returns, angry and accurate. Miller decides to stick around for one last dance.
But the worst-case scenario isn’t far-fetched. Rabada gets injured. Stubbs and Brevis fade. The bowling attack crumbles in key moments. And a tournament South Africa could win becomes another painful chapter in the country’s long history of unfulfilled promise.
This Is Not a Crisis (Yet), But It’s Not Far Off
The pieces are there. The potential is undeniable. But potential doesn’t win World Cups. Execution does. And South Africa have spent the last 10 ODIs alternating between world-beaters and bottom-dwellers. One game they’re beating Australia. The next, they’re bowling 19 wides and getting rolled for 72.
A team this good shouldn’t be this inconsistent. A team this talented shouldn’t have to explain away record losses as “off days.” And a team this close to a home World Cup shouldn’t still be guessing about its best XI.
Fixing it is possible. But the time for experiments is almost up. In 18 months, South Africa either wins a World Cup or wonders — again — what might have been.
And if they keep conceding 350 every other match, we already know which one it’s going to be.
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