South Africa's unsuccessful love with rain in ICC events

South Africa’s reputation of chokers with them bottling up in pressure situations in the high-profile games has a thing to do with their own performances and also the rain, probably the Saffers’ lover. Ever since returning to the sport in 1992, their love story with rain calculations methods like the famous one by Duckworth-Lewis.

Their love blossomed when the South Africans had a pretty much chance of making into the 1992 World Cup final by defeating England in the semis but the rain and the calculators made it a mission impossible. Even playing the 6 editions of the 50-over World Cup after that, South Africa have failed to get into final each and every time, probably the highest prolific game of the sport.

As the years passed, the unsuccessful love story turned into demons and started to haunt them as the rain, revised targets and the par scores halted the South Africans to move forward in the ICC events. In a famous Sri Lanka game in 2003 World Cup, the hosts South Africa needed a win to move into Super 6s round.

At the point of the rain coming down heavily, South Africa were equal on the par score and only one ball was possible before the players went off and never came back. Their captain Shaun Pollock read the Duckworth-Lewis wrong as he mistook the DL par score as the target which will hand them a win. Mark Boucher blocked the final ball and didn’t risk for a single expecting they have won the game only to realize what actually happened later on.

Even in the recent 2015 semi-finals, South Africa had got to defend 297 over New Zealand in 43 overs after they made 281 for loss of 5 wickets in 43 overs. One could feel the revised target was unfair on the batting first side especially with the likes of AB de Villiers and JP Duminy still at the crease who could power the total over 400 even from that point. South Africa eventually lost fighting out with Grant Elliot hitting a six on the penultimate ball of the game.

The rain and the DL calculations have kept haunting them till today as South Africa lost in the previous 5 ODI games which had Duckworth-Lewis Stern method coming into the play with the rain interruptions. In fact, they have lost 8 of their last 11 ODIs which had DLS adjustments and par scores and managed to win only two of them with another game ended as a tie.

Here we look at the instances for South Africa in the ICC events where the rain and revised targets had a say: