South Africa’s complex history with ICC semifinals is a burden the players and management understand they will have to bear until they win something.
A lot has been made of some of that weight being eased by the World Test Championship triumph last year, which does have merit, but it isn’t a one-day title. It didn’t come in a tournament with groups and semifinals followed by a final.
So the Proteas’ mostly anguished history is still relevant before Wednesday’s 2026 T20 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand at Eden Gardens in Kolkata — which means “choking” has been mentioned.
“As for the ‘C word’, there is another one for it: ‘cupcakes’. We kind of enjoyed that,” Proteas head coach Shukri Conrad mused.
He is very aware of South Africa’s history in ICC knockout matches but is also clear about his role — in that he hasn’t had one. He made sure Indian media knew that. Conrad was asked how South Africa was different this year from 2024 when they came within touching distance of winning the T20 World Cup final.
“Well, I wasn’t there. But our experience of the last T20 World Cup will stand us in good stead.”
Conrad’s method of dealing with that history is to confront it. The infamous smoke break (the Camel classic, as Conrad called it) at Centurion in 2024, when Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen chased down the last 50 runs to beat Pakistan and secure South Africa’s spot in the Test Championship final, has often been cited as the turning point.
There Conrad convinced the pair to draw up a plan and stick to it.
That hasn’t been the case with many of the Proteas’ previous attempts to surpass the knockout stage in ICC limited overs tournaments. From rain, an inability to comprehend the Duckworth/Lewis rule, choking and the opposition simply being better, the Proteas have drawn the short straw in the most critical matches in a tournament.
New Zealand have done it to South Africa twice in the ODI World Cup, famously in 2015 in Auckland but more recently last year when their best players — Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson and Mitchell Santner — outperformed the Proteas in the semifinal of the Champions Trophy.
It was similar in the 2023 World Cup semifinal, when Australia’s seam bowlers outperformed the Proteas, while in the field the eventual champions also produced a suffocating fielding display that South Africa came nowhere near matching.
That match was at Eden Gardens, the venue for Wednesday’s clash with the Black Caps. However, instead of 2023, Conrad will reference good memories from South Africa’s last visit to that famous venue.
“Just a few months ago, we started our tour to India there, and it went well,” said the Proteas coach, referencing the historic two-and-a-half-day Test win against India. That was the Proteas’ first Test victory in India in 15 years and laid the foundation for a momentous series win the next week.
There is certainly no fear among the players about another semifinal, and Conrad’s call for them to embrace their status as favourites, because the quality of their performances warrants it, is indicative of the change in mentality.
Unlike some previous teams, this year’s squad doesn’t have a sports psychologist (or anyone acting in that role) as part of the management, with Conrad instead focusing on sporting fundamentals.
“Our practices are whatever the individual requires. If there is a need to have a conversation around the psychological [part of the game], then we will have that.
“But I don’t think it is necessary. It’s just business as usual.”
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