SA vs NED: "The Game Is Not Played On Paper, It’s Played Out In The Middle"- Mark Boucher Says We Have Ourselves To Blame

South Africa’s devastating loss to the Netherlands on Sunday caused them to be eliminated from the T20 World Cup, but outgoing Proteas coach Mark Boucher said, “We have ourselves to blame.”

The calculation for South Africa going to Adelaide was simple. Enter the semifinals by defeating the Dutch, who they have never lost against in any format.The Proteas had a lopsided advantage in all the circumstances. The Proteas wilted under pressure when the crucial moment came, but somehow it happened again at a major competition.

It is a sight that has occurred countless times throughout the years, with the most recent catastrophe joining a long list of previous tragedies.

We Were Never Really In This Game: Mark Boucher

However, this time, it was by no means close. In every aspect of the game—including fielding, hitting, bowling, and even a knowledge of the conditions—the Dutch outperformed South Africa.

The Netherlands were the deserving winners on a sunny day in Adelaide, but the ultimate 13-run loss made it appear closer than it actually was.

“We were never really in this game to be fair. Like if you look at it, and go from the start of the game on paper, we should have won the game. But the game is not played on paper. It’s played out in the middle,” Mark Boucher told reporters.

“They batted well. They were brave. They can come out and play brave cricket. We then put ourselves under pressure with the bat. They read the conditions really well, and adapted quicker than we did, and they made it really tough for us.”

Not Doing Well In World Cups Plays In Your Head: Mark Boucher

Asked about South Africa’s tumultuous World Cup record and does the Proteas have a curse upon them, the former South African wicket-keeper replied:

“I think the more you don’t do well at World Cups, it tends to play in your head a little bit,” Mark Boucher said.

“But I think each one is an individual event, I know there is a lot of history behind South African cricket and a World Cup event. But I don’t think that was the case of late. We have played some tight games in the World Cup and actually won them.

“The last World Cup I thought we played very good cricket. We lost one game and got knocked out. This time around, if you had told us we needed to beat Netherlands to get into a semi-final we would have taken that. These things happen. It’s not the only upset that has happened in the tournament.”

We Didn’t Bowl Or Bat Like We Should Have: Mark Boucher

Due in large part to the Proteas’ wealth of talent and skill, Boucher was unable to pinpoint precisely where everything went wrong for them.

“When you look at the way we started the game our energies were low. I haven’t put my finger on it, haven’t had a chance to speak to guys yet, where they feel it went wrong. Our plans were there, we didn’t quite use them well enough.

If you look at the game as a whole, they outbowled us, they bowled to the longer side of the field. They were able to create more pressure than we were on them,” he said.

“I can honestly look at my coaching staff and say we’ve ticked every box we needed to tick. Sometimes you can control things, other times you’re not. The guys were in good space, I think we played some good cricket over a long period of time, we slipped up the other night against Pakistan, and we looked flat today.

I don’t think we over-trained. The energies didn’t seem like it was there today, and we didn’t bowl or bat like we should have”

Also Read: IND vs ZIM: Team India Qualify For ICC T20 World Cup Semi Final After Netherlands Beat South Africa