Are South Africa on the decline?

[DeadBall]

In Tests they only beat India because of ABs genius twice. Makram is new and untested, Elgar is like a South African Azhar Ali, Amla is past his due date, AB cannot be counted upon, Faf is Ok and De Cock has been terrible of late. The bowlers are good to great but no matter how great your bowling attack is if the batsmen aren't scoring like we Pakistanis know all too well it is kind of pointless.

In ODIs since both AB and Faf are out now, I would be surprised if they avoid a 5-0 whitewash.

 

[Kroll]

They still beat a very strong Indian side, so I would say no.

 

[DeadBall]

They still beat a very strong Indian side, so I would say no.

Yeah but like I said it was mostly ABs counter attack that set the tone and was the difference in both matches. Also I think India would have fared better if they had played a couple of practice matches instead of humoring SL at home.

 

[jnaveen1980]

India's gross unpreparedness, sloppy fielding, team selection definitely came handy for South Africa. On to the topic . A mini transition is in place. Steyn, ABDV are going to play on and off from here on. New players are coming in. Will take a while to adapt and gel. They will be alright pretty soon.

 

[Hasan123]

Doesn't seem to be many batsmen coming through. Bowling seems strong. If they can find batsmen to support De Kock they will be fine if not they could be in for struggle.

 

[DeadBall]

Doesn't seem to be many batsmen coming through. Bowling seems strong. If they can find batsmen to support De Kock they will be fine if not they could be in for struggle.

I think you mean batsmen De Kock can support, his form has been terrible of late.

 

[Hasan123]

I think you mean batsmen De Kock can support, his form has been terrible of late.

All players go through a bad patch. De Kock has shown when on form he is a world class batter.

 

[DeadBall]

All players go through a bad patch. De Kock has shown when on form he is a world class batter.

Yeah but he has looked utterly woeful. Even Philander and Rabada looked better than him.

 

[Hasan123]

Yeah but he has looked utterly woeful. Even Philander and Rabada looked better than him.

He's going through a rough patch. One good knock and he will be back to his best. South Africa don't seem to have another young batsmen who is even close to his level. Which is a big worry.

 

[Buffet]

SA is ranked 1 and 2 in the Test/ODI.

 

[babajee]

SA is ranked 1 and 2 in the Test/ODI.

Why are you so obsessed with rankings!!!

 

[Buffet]

Why are you so obsessed with rankings!!!

If you don't cite ranking in this thread then I will have to rely on usual PP process of boasting about talent of players who have not played or hardly played 2-3 games then hype them to moon.

Ranking is objective and measures the long term consistency. Decline will show up in ranking.

 

[CricFan2012]

Even though its looking good for SA right now, they're definitely going to decline as the quota system's ramifications will be made more apparent.

Just wait until faf, ab, and morkel retire, they were given chances that decent white saffer players will lose to mediocre coloured players.

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

Too early to say they are on the decline. The nucleus of the team (De Kock, amla, AB, faf, miller, duminy) are still the same from the 2015 WC where they reacehd the semis. They might have to try some new players but the current nucleus is more than capable of performing well.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Yes, it is a team on the decline. You can't be a top team unless you have at least one run scoring machine.

 

[IndianFan2018]

Yes, it is a team on the decline. You can't be a top team unless you have at least one run scoring machine.

Looks like new coach Otis Gibson preference is finding bowling superstars. SA need one world class batting coach to guide upcoming batters !

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Their bowling is gonna be top class but yes with the likes of AB,faf and Amla nearing the end of their careers, they will need replacements or they will struggle to compete away.