A South African cricket fan’s standout World Cup catastrophe will depend on when they were born. Baby boomers cite the time, back in 1992, when Brian McMillan was left needing 22 runs off one ball after rain in Sydney washed away any hope of a chase. Millennials are forever haunted by Alan Donald’s dropped bat in that tied semi-final in 1999. Gen Zs must still be wondering how Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller failed to get over the line with 30 needed off as many balls in last year’s T20 final.
The Proteas choking when it matters most is a tale as old as the country itself. Longer, in fact, if you consider that Nelson Mandela was elected president two years after this story began. And throughout it all, one antagonist has loomed largest.
