No excuse why SA let World Cup slip – Toyana

Did India’s gamesmanship cost SA an historic first Cricket World Cup trophy? Or was it Heinrich Klaasen’s fault to chase – and nick – a wide Hardik Pandya delivery when the Proteas were so close to the finish line?

Geoffrey Toyana reckons neither excuse is valid. “We had done enough to win that final,” the Easterns coach said yesterday on the opening day of the KFC mini-cricket summit, taking place in Hermanus, Western Cape. “We can’t make excuses.”

With SA needing 30 runs from 30 balls to win Saturday’s ICC T20 World Cup in Barbados, India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant called for medical attention, which experts agree took SA’s momentum away. Klaasen, who had just crossed 50, was dismissed off the very next delivery by Hardik, swinging the momentum towards India, who went on to clinch the trophy by seven runs and painfully deny SA the World Cup.

“It was heartbreaking to watch,” admitted Toyana, a former SA first-class cricketer and Lions head coach.

“Gamesmanship happens in every sport. Pant has only recently returned from a terrible car accident, so we can’t be sure if he really required treatment. There was also another excuse regarding the catch taken by Suryakumar [Yadav] off David Miller on the boundary, some people said the boundary had moved. But that’s not where we lost the game.

“There were other elements which contributed, such as the first over we bowled to [India opener] Virat Kohli. He’s off form, then we bowl five half-volleys to get him going. We can come up with all excuses but at the end of the day India are champions. We lost by just seven runs and if you watch the entire game, you can find those seven runs elsewhere other than to come up with excuses.”

Nevertheless, Toyana felt the Proteas’ reaching a final for the first time went some way in making up for the hurt of the past. “We finally got over the semifinal curse. We’ve been eliminated seven times in the last four stage of ICC tournaments, mainly because we self-destructed, like in 1999 with the Lance Klusener-Allan Donald run-out.

Getting to the final this time was fulfilling. But to get so close to winning it, needing 25 runs off the last four overs, is quite heartbreaking. Klaasen had done enough to get us over the line. Miller should have got us there.”

Toyana, meanwhile, is among guests at the mini-cricket national seminar which takes place this week. “This is something close to my heart because I started here as a junior player in the Bakers mini-league at Elkah Stadium in Soweto. Such programmes will enable us to right the wrongs we’ve seen with our cricket teams,” the 50-year-old said.