It would have been useless to try to stop the tears, and none among them tried. As Grant Elliott's triumphant six arched into the stands far beyond long-on at Eden Park yesterday, South Africa's players sank where they stood and their emotions tumbled out, wet and hot, into Auckland's chilly night air.Bowler Dale Steyn lay as if poleaxed on the pitch. AB de Villiers looked as if he was waiting to be shot.In the covers, Faf du Plessis's eyes were red. Morné Morkel had to be talked off the turf by Wayne Parnell.By the time De Villiers faced the press, he had composed himself enough to look as if something had gone terribly wrong in his life.Earlier, he had looked as if life itself was over.Was that the worst he had yet felt on a cricket ground?"Yes."Now what?"I have absolutely no idea what to do from here on. I don't even know when we're going home. It's going to take some time. As captain, I'll be there for the guys as much as I can. There is nothing you can do about it now."Was there any explaining it?"I felt that we left it out on the field and that's all I can ask of the guys. We had our chances, especially in the second half of the game, and we didn't take them."It's obviously painful. Lots of people back home were supporting us. It hurts to think of all of them. We so badly wanted to take that trophy back home."That done, De Villiers sank back in his chair. He leaned forward, tired head cradled in one tired hand, and either coughed, retched or sobbed; it was difficult to tell which.Then it was coach Russell Domingo's turn. He admitted: "The boys are broken. It's been a really tough, tough defeat for us."What would it take for the Proteas to win a World Cup?"You need things to go for you. You need to take your opportunities. There is such a small margin between winning and losing."This is the first semifinal New Zealand have won, but people don't question that. It's just the nature of being the SA cricket team, I suppose."..