“Our energies were low,” says South Africa head coach Mark Boucher following their defeat against Netherlands and exit from the World Cup

The biggest shock of the currently ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia was when Netherlands scripted a 13-run win over heavyweights South Africa who were the favourites to move to the semifinals heading to this game. Temba Bavuma and his men only needed a win to secure their place in the last four but they somehow faltered trying to 159 and fell short of the semifinals with India and Pakistan going forward.

The constant ‘chokers tag’ related to the Proteas has been for long and there have been several instances for that. But Mark Boucher feels that this defeat was probably the worst as they were looking to prove a point in world cricket and they looked really good until they lost their last two games against Pakistan and Netherlands. “It is quite frustrating because as a player you can at least still have a say in the game. As a coach, you’re left to leave it up to other individuals to go out there and try and perform. Certainly as a coach, it’s up there.”

The Dutch batted first and put up a good score of 158 with some good innings from the likes of Colin Ackermann, Stephen Myburgh and Tom Cooper. It was a good score considering how their batting has not worked for them in this world cup. So with their strength in bowling the Dutch were confident of defending the total and that’s what they did eventually.

Boucher shared how the players were low on energy as it was a early start and the only early start of the tournament. Although he did not point it as a reason for their defeat but he feels it can make a difference when the body is adapted to a particular time. “If you look at the way we started the game, our energies were low. Whether that’s because it was a 10.30am start [the only game in the tournament that began that early], I don’t know. I haven’t really put my finger on it. I haven’t had a chance to speak to the guys,” Boucher stated.

The former South African wicketkeeper shared how they did not execute their plans properly and hence they were made to pay by a more settled Dutch side who came out all guns blazing with the ball in hand. He credited the Dutch for their excellent bowling performance. “Our plans were there but we didn’t use them well enough. If you look at the game as a whole, I think the Netherlands out-bowled us. They bowled with good plans, bowled to the longer side of the field, and they were able to create more pressure on us than we were able to put pressure on them,” he explained.

There were plenty of performances that stood out for the Dutch as Fred Klassen led the attack picking up important wickets of Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram to derail the Proteas. While Brandon Glover was the brightest light with the ball as he picked up three wickets in two overs which included Rilee Rossouw, David Miller and Wayne Parnell. Consistent performance Paul van Meekeren and Bas de Leede also chipped in with wickets to script a historic all round win for the Dutch.