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Every team enjoys success at some point or another in their history (bar the Arizona Cardinals), and some are better than others at achieving success be it down to personel, determination or sheer luck. The Proteas can count two of those facets amongst their armoury but the third appears to alude them on any stage involving the dreaded phrase ‘knock-out’. A quick scan of the squad to take on the rest of the world on home soil in the up and coming Champions Trophy highlights a strong presence of fine cricketers. In Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe, South Africa possess spin twins to rival the magic of Murali and Mendis in the limited overs game. Though neither has the awe of Murali or the mystery of Mendis, both off-spinners have the enviable ability to prize out batsmen. If on the rare occasion this doesn’t occur, their accuracy and changes of pace, flight mean that opposing batsmen often have to take uneccessary risks later on in the innings to boost a dwindling run-rate.

Elsewhere the bowling looks equally as dangerous - Dale Steyn has pace and attitude. He is more than capable of sending back some of the world’s finest in the opening overs with agressive pitched up swing bowling and an attacking field to match. At the other end is the emerging left armer Wayne Parnell. At the tender age of 19, he already possesses a demon yorker to stifle an end of innings counter attack, and can also keep it tight on off-stump during the opening overs. To back this up Graeme Smith can call upon Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel and JP Duminy to reinforce the four main attackers.

The batting’s not bad either. Smith and Kallis offer brutal, technically correct hitting at the top, with Gibbs floating around to take a game away if he gets his eye in. de Villiers acts as the rock in the middle order who can both destroy and rebuild with ease. Duminy provides another safety net as well as some late order hitting at 5. To finish an innings off in style, South Africa have probably the finest lower-middle order in Morkel, Boucher and van der Merwe. Though he is past his best, Boucher can still thrive at the highest level on his day and van der Merwe can match the best in the world in terms of six hitting. Morkel needs no introduction.

So why are South Africa perhaps not most people’s favourites to lift the trophy? Possibly because on paper they look the most complete unit, and New Zealand rugby fans will be well aware that this does not automatically give you the cup. Barring Australia in the last 12 years, the team tagged ‘favouites’ have often been betted on with caution, mainly due to the unpredictability of cricket, and the fact that a star can appear from nowhere and win the game against the odds. History plays an unfortunate part, too - Shaun Pollock crossed Messrs Duckworth and Lewis off his christmas card list (Boucher crossed out Pollock too) after the nightmare of 2003 on home turf as clear cut favourites. Further back in time you’ll find a haunted Klusener and a man by the name of Donald who never enjoyed having a bat in his hand, although running was usually his forte. Fast forward to the semi-final of the World 20/20 this year and an inspired Shahid Afridi, and you’ll quickly understand why a bet on South Africa should be approached with extreme caution.

So how do teams get past the world number 1 and overwhelming favourites? Apart from arranging a semi-final meeting, weaknesses can be found in the Protea juggernaut. Firstly, take the attack to Steyn. Steyn feeds off batsmen staying back in their crease instinctively due to his raw speed and swing. Even stepping out of the crease by a foot can turn those nasty away swingers into low full bungers, and if you can overcome him mentally, Steyn will begin to lose his composure. Rotating the strike on the spinners prevents them from getting any pressure to build. Also, if you can take the risk and hit one of them out of the attack, you can force Smith out of the comfort of his bowling plans, and he may be forced to alter the bowling lineup so that it could become easier to score later on in the innings off a less accomplished bowler.

To conquer the batting lineup, Gibbs needs to be either starved of the strike or gotten early. A subtle change of pace can turn Gibbs’ favourite smear over extra cover into a simple catch by the man on the edge of the inner circle. Keeping him at the non-striker’s end can also force him into a rash shot. Smith enjoys anything on his legs. He also likes it either full on off stump or around chest height so that he can punch it into the leg side. It would be better to send the ball around the nose and search for either a top edge or a bit of glove. The best way to stifle South Africa’s powerful lower order is to take them out of their comfort zone. Though he is extremely talented, Duminy can become bogged down if the bowling is tight, and can end up chewing up overs scratching around for singles rather than increasing the rate. Morkel, Boucher and van der Merwe enjoy entering the fray with around 6 overs to go so as to hit out at will. Getting them in early will force them to play a game that is not natural to them.

As you can see, it is obvious like any other team South Africa possess strengths and weaknesses in the One Day arena in both batting and bowling. To expose these weaknesses, opposing teams must be proactive in their approach - sitting back and expecting something to happen will play into the Proteas’ hands. Instead, captains must take risks and capitalise on even the smallest of opportunities, as historically it is clear that the South African machine can de-rail thanks to a tiny wobble. In their quests for glory, Australia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will also thank the ICC for making South Africa the hosts, too.

It is not often that a player born for 20/20 is able to make a solid yet promising start to a test career. Jesse Ryder comes to mind, as does JP Duminy, but the list effectively stops there. It appears, however that the 22 year old allrounder Angelo Mathews, who was vital in Sri Lanka reaching the final of the 20/20 World Cup in England earlier this year will join this list. When drafting the ideal 20/20 player, Mathews pretty much fits the bill - a powerful hitter of the ball who is also quick between the wickets and can rotate the strike, an effective medium pace bowler, and a live wire in the field (remember THAT boundary stop?). Therefore, it is even more fulfilling to see a player be able to transfer these skills into the test arena at a dangerous time when players are starting to chose between the longest and shortest formats as a career choice.

So far, Mathews has played just the three tests against Pakistan in his home country. As an allrounder coming in to bat anywhere between 6 and 8, his figures stand up to scrutiny so far. In five innings, Mathews hit 191 runs at an average of nearly 48, with a highest score of 64* and scoring no lower than 27. Notably, his highest score came in a gritty 3 hour vigil with his captain to save the third test match. His bowling so far has been perhaps less noticable, as he was employed as a second or third change bowler to hold one end whilst the spinners worked away at the other, and to give the strike bowlers a breather. However, he does hold respectability with his bowling, having picked up 4 wickets in the series at an average of 34.5. You suspect, however, that as his status increases within the team, Sangakkara will be more likely to throw Mathews the ball earlier on in an innings.

New Zealand at home will be another ideal series for Mathews to continue finding his feet and his role within the team. If he bowls well, then there are wickets to be had, but if he strays, then the likes of Taylor, Ryder and Guptill will punish him. Likewise he will face his sternest test whilst batting against possibly the world’s most thoughtful yet dangerous bowler, Dan Vettori. However, he can find runs against the likes of Tuffey and Butler if he focuses. With a prominent part to play in Sri Lanka’s Champions Trophy squad, Mathews is certainly making waves in all forms of the game.