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South Africa’s chances of shaking the “chokers” tag that has dogged them through the team’s failure to win cricket’s major tournaments are shrinking by the day at the 2009 Champions Trophy.As hosts of the Champions Trophy in 2009, the Protea’s were presented with the ideal opportunity to silence their critics, but a hammering by Sri Lanka in their first match of the series must have the South African’s wondering if it will be déjà vue in 2009.The Sri Lankan batsmen, led by centurion Tillakaratne Dilshan, punished the South African bowlers on their way to a total of 319 in the teams’ opening match. Chasing a revised total of 262 runs from 37.4 overs, South Africa could only manage 206 runs in reply in a dismal opening performance in the tournament.The loss – no pounding – by Sri Lanka makes the remaining Group B matches for the Proteas must-win encounters.Those matches are against New Zealand and England, and while South Africa must have been confident with their draw before the tournament, the matches against the Blackcaps and Andrew Strauss’ men now loom as dangerous prospects for Graeme Smith’s team.Losses in those matches will mean the Proteas have again failed to convert a dominant position in the ICC’s One-Day International rankings – they entered the Champions Trophy as the No.1 ranked ODI side in the world – into a tournament title.The chokers tag still plagues South Africa a decade after Herschelle Gibbs’ premature celebrations of a catch that led him to drop the ball in a World Cup game against Australia in 1999. The dropped catch happened to be off Steve Waugh, who went on to make a match-winning century against the Proteas and guide Australia to eventual victory in the tournament.South Africa’s reputation as chokers has become further entrenched by the fact the team has reached the semifinals of the Cricket World Cup on three occasions without progressing to the final.“Choke” is probably not a word mentioned in the South African dressing rooms, but it’s the elephant in the room for the Proteas.And whether or not the Proteas want to acknowledge it, if the No. 1 ranked ODI team can’t win the Champions Trophy on home soil, their reputation as chokers may be entrenched for many, many more years to come.
Tags: africa, chokers, South, tag, tightens
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