Johannesburg, Mar 06: Fate in the form of an unexpected downpour was immediately blamed for South Africa's precipitous exit from the World Cup this week. Instead the host nation's failure to qualify for the second round stemmed not from an impersonal chance but from internal flaws. South Africa's elimination on Monday after tying with Sri Lanka in a rain-affected match decided by the Duckworth-Lewis method was cruel. But the harsh truth remained that the South Africans were unable to beat either West Indies, New Zealand or Sri Lanka, the leading teams in their group.
"We have been on a slippery slope for some while now," former test batsman Daryll Cullinan wrote on Wednesday. "Warning calls were not heeded.
Before the tournament started, three senior South Africa internationals created consternation both at home and abroad when they said they wanted to dedicate the tournament to their former captain Hansie Cronje. Cronje was banned for life in October 2000, after admitting taking money from bookmakers, a scandal which scarred the game. He died at the age of 32 in an aircraft crash last year.
Bureau Report