A savagely versatile batting consortium makes South Africa a frontrunner to raise the golden cup to the skies, even if their patchy recent form suggests otherwise. From head to the lower limbs, they boast unabashed hitters of the leather ball, who could dismember most bowling attacks in the world.
The headsman of violence is Heinrich Klaassen, mild of manners but a riot of rage with the bat. He enters the tournament with a wounded heart, the near-miss in the T20 World Cup final still haunting him, which makes him a deadlier force. Nothing rattles him, forthright speed or devilish swing or ripping spin, green-tops or turners, making one of the most feared hitters in the game. What makes him elite is the ability to cut the spinners to ribbons in the middle overs. In Asia, he averages 42.29 and maintains a strike rate of 124. He has strummed warning notes with four 80-plus scores in the last four games. Process the strike rates—88, 131, 188, 155. He is one of the most brutal hitters at the death overs too.
If Klaassen is South Africa’s batting general, the trusted lieutenants feature David Miller, an equally ferocious hitter, a rejuvenated Temba Bavuma and a recalibrated Aiden Markram. The young cavalry comprises the buccaneering Tony de Zorzi (strike rate of 95), Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder. Down the order, Marco Jansen could unlock his long levers to furnish South Africa death-over impetus. Corbin Bosch is relatively unknown, but he is reputed for his big strokes down the order.
