The Proteas’ World Cup dream is now well and truly dead and buried after losing to Pakistan by 49 runs at Lord’s on Sunday evening.
It was captain Faf du Plessis and his team’s fifth defeat in seven games, winning only one match with the other one abandoned because of rain.
Still only on three log points with two matches left, nothing will get the Proteas into the final four now.
That means their last two matches against Sri Lanka and Australia are now just for spek en boontjies.
It wasn’t like they looked like a team playing for more than that at the home of cricket.
RESULT | SA 259/9, 50 overs
The Proteas fall 49 runs short in their seventh match of the #CWC19
“We're not playing great cricket. Whole tournament we've been good with the ball, but today we gave them a really good start” - #FafDuPlessis #ProteaFire🔥 #PAKvSA pic.twitter.com/iAyZjGbnE0
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) June 23, 2019
Asked to field after Pakistan won the toss, South Africa’s opponents hammered the Proteas’ bowling attack, with Babar Azam (69) and Haris Sohail (89) top-scoring for the team that was second-from-bottom on the log before this encounter started.
Chasing Pakistan’s 308/7, struggling Proteas opener Hashim Amla was again a nul-op-’n-kontrak when he was trapped leg before wicket with his score on two in the second over.
Captain Du Plessis and Quinton de Kock (47) then steadied the South African ship, but they couldn’t keep up with the required run rate and as a result couldn’t help it from sinking.
Du Plessis gave his all with a knock of 63 and Rassie van der Dussen (36) added some runs, but once again SA weren’t good enough as they ended on a skamele 259/9.