Mandatory Credit: South Africa cricketer Quinton de Kock raises his bat after his century during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup India 2023 between Australia and South Africa at Atal Behari Vajpayee stadium in Ekana, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh on October 12, 2023.
Photo: Photo by Prakash Singh/Shutterstock/via Backpagepix
Seven stunning stats behind the Proteas’ dominance at the Cricket World Cup
We look at some of the stunning stats and facts to come out of the Proteas’ outright dominance throughout the first half of the 2023 Cricket World Cup campaign.
Mandatory Credit: South Africa cricketer Quinton de Kock raises his bat after his century during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup India 2023 between Australia and South Africa at Atal Behari Vajpayee stadium in Ekana, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh on October 12, 2023.
Photo: Photo by Prakash Singh/Shutterstock/via Backpagepix
The Proteas have enjoyed a superb start to their World Cup campaign in India as they continue their hunt for a maiden world title, racking up eight log points from two a possible 10 after five matches played.
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The Proteas started off by beating Sri Lanka by 102 runs, followed by a 134-run win over Australia. South Africa’s third match, against the Netherland, resulted in a 38-run defeat.
But the Proteas got back on the winning horse with a record 229-run thrashing of England, which they backed up another 149-run victory over Bangladesh.
Below we unpack the remarkable statistics behind the Proteas’ early dominance at thee Cricket World Cup in India so far.
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STATS AND FACTS THAT TELL THE TALE OF THE PROTEAS
Biggest wins by runs
The Proteas’ massive 229-run victory over England is the biggest margin of victory in terms of runs in the tournament so far.
That is well clear of the second-highest win which South Africa now share following their 149-run triumph over Bangladesh. New Zealand beat Afghanistan by the same margin earlier in the tournament.
Bat first and win big
The Proteas’ thumping win against Bangladesh is their eighth ODI victory by more than 100 runs in 2023 and comes from 10 times they have batted first in their 18 matches.
That ties the all-time record for 100-plus run wins in a calendar year, set by Pakistan in 1999, but has come in 11 fewer matches.
The Proteas have now also won nine of the 10 ODIs where they have batted first this year.
Bat first and bat big is South Africa’s ideal game plan, and Tuesday’s match in Mumbai marked the seventh time in consecutive ODIs that they have scored more than 300 when batting first to equal the record held by Australia (2007) and England (2019).
Highest net run rate
The Proteas’ crushing wins over England and Bangladesh in Mumbai mean that they have by far the best net run rate in the competition.
Their current net run rate of +2.370 after five matches is well clear of the next best – New Zealand’s +1.481.
Quinton de Kock blasts CWC best
Quinton de Kock’s outstanding 174 is his highest-ever score at an ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and only four runs short of his best individual effort in an ODI.
Only Gary Kirsten has produced a bigger knock for the Proteas at a Men’s Cricket World Cup, hitting 188* against UAE in 1996.
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Klaasen’s stunning strike rate
Out of all the recognised batters at the Cricket World Cup nobody has a higher strike rate than Heinrich Klaasen.
The big-hitting number five is the sixth-highest scorer at the tournament so far, and his 288 runs have come at an eye-watering rate of 150.78.
Of the front-line batters at the tournament, only Kusal Mendis (218 at 146.30) and Iftikhar Ahmed (101 at 140.27) come close to matching Klaasen’s hitting prowess.
Brutal death-overs hitting
The blitz from De Kock, Klaasen and David Miller saw South Africa score an extraordinary 144 runs in the final 10 overs against Bangladesh.
That tally is the highest score in the final 10 overs of an innings at the tournament so far, bettering the Proteas’ effort against England by a single run.
Individual honours in De Kock’s sights
Quinton de Kock’s three centuries have sent him to the top of the tournament’s run-scoring charts ahead of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Only two players have ever scored more centuries than three at a single ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup – Kumar Sangakkara with four in 2015 and Rohit Sharma with five in 2019.
De Kock could also become the highest individual scorer for the Proteas at an ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. He currently trails Jacques Kallis’ record of 485 in 2007 by just 78 runs, with four group stage matches and potentially the knockout stages remaining.
The highest-ever individual tally at a Men’s Cricket World Cup stands at 673, scored by Sachin Tendulkar in 2003.
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HEINRICH KLAASEN IS IN TOP FORM AT THE WORLD CUP
