MELBOURNE (Reuters) – South Africa have themselves to blame for a disappointing 13-run loss to the Netherlands on Sunday which eliminated them from the Twenty20 World Cup and the squad deserves better, head coach Mark Boucher said.
Chasing 159 for victory at the Adelaide Oval, South Africa’s top-order failed to build on starts and they finished with 145-8 in 20 overs to send India through to the semi-finals and ensure Pakistan’s clash with Bangladesh became a virtual knockout.
Pakistan won by five wickets to reach the semi-finals.
“It’s disappointing to have an exit like this with this particular squad because I believe we deserve better as a squad. We’ve got ourselves to blame, but yeah, I think our T20 side is in a good position,” Boucher told reporters.
The South Africans have struggled to shed their long-held reputation as “chokers” in big matches in one-day cricket, but Boucher said they were not alone in suffering an upset in the tournament in Australia.
“This time around if you would have said to us we’ve got Netherlands to play to get into a semi-final and we’ve got to beat them, we would have taken that at the start of the tournament,” the former wicketkeeper said.
“But these things happen. It’s not the only upset that’s happened in the tournament.”
Boucher, who confirmed in September that he would step down after the World Cup and take charge of the Mumbai Indians in the 2023 Indian Premier League, said it was one of his worst defeats.
“It’s quite frustrating because as a player you can at least still have a say in the game,” Boucher said.
“As a coach, you’re sort of left to leave it up to other individuals to go out there and try and perform. Certainly as a coach, yeah, it’s up there.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru)
