OPINION: T20 is a thrilling format, but it’s just not cricket

Members of the Proteas team at the T20 World Cup in India. Picture: Shubhajit Roy Karmakar/NurPhoto/AFP Another play-off defeat. Another gut-wrenching result for South African cricket fans.

But the Proteas’loss to New Zealandin their T20 World Cup semifinal didn’t expose the national squad as a team that chokes under pressure. It exposed the flaws of T20 cricket. We can’t be too critical of the short format.

It has attracted a lot of new fans to the sport and it remains the most thrilling and attractive form of the game to the general public. In terms of displaying the skills of players and teams, however, it’s too quick and unpredictable. We really can’t argue that.

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The top-order and middle-order batters didn’t stand up, as they had done throughout the tournament, and that left the SA side playing catch-up. However, after losing Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton in the second over, the Proteas could have bounced back were it not for one poor decision by the third umpire. Aiden Markram was given a life when he was on three after Rachin Ravindra dropped a catch, and considering the form he had displayed at the global showpiece, the skipper could have gone on to anchor a recovery.

But he was dismissed for 18 runs after the ball clearly bounced before Daryl Mitchell took a catch. Had Markram been given the green light, and he was still in when a destructive Marco Jansen stepped to the crease, the South Africans could have racked up a far more intimidating total. Chasing 170 to win, New Zealand batters Finn Allen and Tim Seifert were under a lot less pressure than they could have been, and the relaxed opening pair took advantage of this by going bananas. They got a little lucky, and before the Proteas could blink, the game was taken away from them.

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