The Proteas Return Home Unbeaten - Big 'Meh'

I'm not sure about you, but I had not forgotten that the Proteas were on tour amid the noise elsewhere in the world of sport.

One can't be blamed for logging out emotionally from our South Africa's cricketing fortunes at the moment. The men's team has been in an undeniable decline in recent years, characterised by unprecedented series losses at home and broad, which culminated in the disastrous campaign at the 2019 World Cup in England. Last summer was a continuation of the mediocrity, which saw the Proteas lose a combined four out of five series in all formats against England Pakistan in a COVID-19-interrupted schedule. The one win was the Test series against Sri Lanka, the only glimmer of light in a dark summer.

ODI and T20 captain Temba Bavuma owes the team big runs when it matters most © PA Sport

As such, the indifference within the local cricketing fraternity was palpable as the team embarked on a tour of the West Indies and Ireland recently. It is difficult to remain interested in a team consisting of players who either look like they don't belong on the international stage, or have been out of form for a disturbing length of time. I found myself watching most of these games because I - like you - found myself at home non-negotiably due to increased lockdown restrictions as the dreaded "Third Variant" crashed over the country. With no other sports to distract me, I re-invested my emotions into the Proteas, and I'm glad to say that it was worth the time, at the very least.

Test captain Quinton De Kock appears refreshed after his brief sabbatical © Yahoo! Sports

The Quinton De Kock and Temba Bavuma-led Test, ODI and T20 returned with victories in all but one series, the rain-affected ODI slugfest against Ireland, which ended 1-1. The standout result was defeating a formidable West Indies 3-2 out in the Caribbean in the T20 series. The Windies were stacked with their journeyman stars, and while the Proteas did nearly try their best to lose all these matches, their nerve and composure saw them through to a landmark series win on their path to redemption. It has got to be said: this team is uncannily emulating Pakistan with its unpredictability. There's absolutely no telling which Proteas team will turn up on any given day, also possessing the tendency to turn straightforward wins into losses, and seemingly lost causes into victories. The most annoying aspect of that summer mentioned earlier is how many games they could AND should have won, meaning we would have been writing a different story entirely. Sigh.

Coach Mark Boucher has off and on-field problems to contend with © IANS

The T20 World Cup is now firmly in sight, with no other scheduled series to ease the team into the tournament. Honestly, very few of us are giving them a hope in hell frozen over to win it, let alone making the semifinals. Far better Proteas teams with title-favourite credentials have won dololo at global showpiece events, so it makes for an ironically nice change that we have no expectations of this generation of players. Perhaps, maybe perhaps, this pessimism transfers into a lack of pressure on the team, inspiring them to eternal glory. We can only hope...