Cricket World Cup Team Preview: South Africa lay down marker
Published:
Number of previous appearances: 6
Last appearance: 2011
Best finish: Semi-finals (1992, 1999, 2007)
2014 ODI record: Played 19, Won 12, Lost 6, No Result 1
Pool: B
First 3 fixtures: Zimbabwe, India, West Indies
Coach: Russell Domingo
Squad: Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers (capt & wk), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir.
Top runscorer: AB de Villiers. South Africa have arguably the strongest batting unit at the tournament, with Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock all making a case for their inclusion here. It is De Villiers that the lineup revolves around though and his position as the number one-ranked ODI batsman in the world has been backed up by a tremendous run of consistency in the format.
Pre-tournament storyline: Amla scored 153 not out in a recent ODI with the West Indies but barely got any recognition after De Villiers came at number three and smashed a world-record, 31-ball century (the highlights of which are below). The Proteas skipper ended up with 149 off just 44 deliveries, including 16 sixes, as South Africa sent a real message of intent to the rest of the World Cup field.
Tournament odds: 4/1
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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