With a few rounds left before we find out the top 4 teams to take on each other in the semi-finals, the Temba Bavuma-led South African side are still in with a shot and still have a massive chance to cause an upset.

World Cups and drama with the Proteas has always been a recurring episode and perhaps with this edition, the episode could have just played at the right time for the team to move on and focus on the job at hand.

From being overlooked and being seen as almost making up the numbers, a huge underdog tag placed on your head plus with the drama in the selection, you definitely needed to make a statement in your opening fixture and let the world know, or rather remind them who you were and the history that you come with. 

We have gone to World Cups before with world-class teams that have always been seen as favourites but we are still yet to win any World Cup tournament. Maybe with the smallest chance they’ve ever had, this could be the team to take South Africa over the line as unlike those that came before, there is less pressure and expectations.

The loss to the Aussies would have felt like a ‘knockdown’ in boxing terms, but not one that necessarily takes you down but rather brings you down to one knee, with a chance to get up and continue to fight.

It’s the same knee that now unites the team and saw the end of any episodes but cricket at the fore as it should be. And speaking of cricket, the Proteas have so far done what they can and have done it brilliantly. I say brilliantly because they’ve got the job done when they needed to so far.

They stuck together during the knee gate controversy and saw off the West Indies and the muscle they came with. Key victories against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh soon followed and though you would expect the Proteas to win those, no victory ever comes easy at the World Cup especially in T20 cricket.

It is a well-known fact that for this team to be anywhere close to doing well they would need to work closely as a team as they don’t have obvious match-winners in form. So far they have won 3 games, but none of them has been as clinical and balanced as they would have liked –  with the batting still being highlighted as a concern.

The bowlers set the tone against Australia by almost defending a total of 118. From then on out they have been a force and laid a foundation for batters to feed off. But what happens when you lose the toss and have to bat first? Can the batters also come to the party and lay a foundation for the bowlers? Have they also nailed their lineup with Reeza Hendricks and Heinrich Klaasen coming to mind? The last time we had to bat first we couldn’t go past 120 runs and have looked shaky in patches when chasing.

With 3 wins the Proteas are yet to play their best game and with a clinical England looming, they will need to find that ‘best game’ or they will soon find themselves back home. The batters, and especially Quinton de Kock, will be well aware of this and there won’t be a better time to fix it than against a high-flying English side.

De Kock has struggled so far and with so much resting on his shoulders, the team will continue to struggle as long as he doesn’t find his best form.

It is often said that it’s not about how you start but how you finish and in his case, South Africa will be hoping he will peak at the right time and see them through.

With Bangladesh being knocked out and having a point to prove and the West Indies still in with a shot, Australia has it all to do.

South Africa has it a bit easier as they only have to beat England and hope the rest of the world continues to underestimate them as they continue to march on.