The South African camp looks beleaguered, they have lost three matches, and now face New Zealand, a side which is not only in form, but has also managed to knock the Proteas out of the tournament two years in a row now. This can be a tricky prospect for Faf du Plessis and company, and former South African captain Graeme Smith believes that the management needs to take a call about the senior members in the side.
"South Africa has some big issues, make no mistake. I spoke at the start of the tournament of how important it is for your experienced players to stand up at World Cups. In these two sides, that point has been emphasised perfectly," Smith wrote in his column for Times of India.
Hashim Amla has looked very patchy all through
Hashim Amla has looked very patchy, he looks to be in a rut at the top of the order and this has only heaped more pressure on Quinton de Kock at the top of the order. This is where Smith is concerned, and he even compared the performance of New Zealand senior players to the Proteas and highlighted the gulf in the contribution of the two batting orders.
"For New Zealand, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor have all stood up with the bat. Quinton de Kock aside, who has gone ok, South Africa have been nowhere with the bat. They have some big decisions to make in terms of their batting line-up for this game. Is it right to keep throwing Hashim Amla in at the moment? He just doesn't look right. Whether it's the hit he took in the first game that's rattled him, he looks gun shy against pace. Something New Zealand will undoubtedly look to exploit," he further wrote in the column.
Smith also said that Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson are in fine form and they are bowling with pace and rhythm and as such, Amla might not have any place to hide with the relentless pressure if South Africa do stick with him.
South Africa managed to win their previous match against Afghanistan and Amla did score 41, but he was nowhere close to his best and scratched around for a long time. It will be very interesting to see if the management does persist with him in this important game.
