A tribute to Cricket South Africa

There may be fans who hate certain Cricket Teams. For instance, the Australians have a long-lasting rivalry with the English. Many Indian fans hate the Aussies for their frequent indulgence in sledging. The Pakistanis have the biggest enemy in India and battle hard to win matches against them.

However, all Cricket fans, love the way Cricket South Africa has entertained the sport over the last two decades. Much similar to the abundant talents bestowed with Cricketing superpowers like Australia and India, Cricket SA as well enjoyed some great teams with great players decorating the sport.

Cricket SA has always been a firm believer in hard work. Every member of the squad played tirelessly to win games. In fact, they are probably the only nation in the world who don't play mind games and focus completely on their performance. In terms of fair play and good sporting behavior, they always rank the best. This is despite few bad luck which they suffered in their crucial matches.

They lost a place in two ICC World Cup Finals, after luck turned its back, on their important Semi-Final games. Despite all these misadventures, they never lost their integrity and behaved badly on/off the field.

Several notable players like Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock were well known for their fierce fast bowling. But they seldom had the intent to injure the batsman by bowling deadly bouncers. Their motive was to get wickets and their pride was in getting the stumps off. They bowled wicket to wicket and believed in their consistency and accuracy. They showed the world that they can be lethal with good length deliveries. Bowlers like Dale Steyn continued their legacy.

Batsmen like Herschelle Gibbs had the power to destroy any bowler. Gibbs would smash almost every ball in the powerplays. Openers like him provided a strong foundation for the middle order. Lance Klusener was the deadliest player at the death overs - a genuine match winner. However, both Gibbs and Klusener's tenure ended shortly.

Jonty Rhodes was perhaps the best fielder and Jacques Kallis was the best all-rounder, Cricket has ever had. Kallis was the wall of SA, with having tagged 'the most dependable', during the difficult situations. His position at No. 3 gave SA sheer power and comfort. He was handy both with the ball and the bat, by breaking records in the Tests as well as the ODIs. Although he was still at his best, Kallis chose to make way for the youngsters and left the sport on a high.

Then the likes of Du Plessis and AB De Villiers ruled the game. With ABD said to have a 360-degree playing capability, SA dominated the current decade. He was a complete batsman with respect to the modern day Cricket. His consistency is well known with his stellar average in both the Tests and the ODIs. After ABD's departure, there will be void, but they have enough talented players to replace him. However, the greatness of a player and human being, like ABD, will be missed by Cricket fans.

Cricket SA might not have won the ICC World Cup so far, but without doubt, they have won many hearts worldwide.