OPINION: T20 is a thrilling format, but it’s just not cricket

2026-03-07 - 11:33

Another play-off defeat. Another gut-wrenching result for South African cricket fans. But the Proteas’ loss to New Zealand in their T20 World Cup semifinal didn’t expose the national squad as a team that chokes under pressure. It exposed the flaws of T20 cricket. We can’t be too critical of the short format. It has attracted a lot of new fans to the sport and it remains the most thrilling and attractive form of the game to the general public. In terms of displaying the skills of players and teams, however, it’s too quick and unpredictable. Granted, the Proteas were outplayed by the Black Caps. We really can’t argue that. The top-order and middle-order batters didn’t stand up, as they had done throughout the tournament, and that left the SA side playing catch-up. One poor decision However, after losing Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton in the second over, the Proteas could have bounced back were it not for one poor decision by the third umpire. Aiden Markram was given a life when he was on three after Rachin Ravindra dropped a catch, and considering the form he had displayed at the global showpiece, the skipper could have gone on to anchor a recovery. But he was dismissed for 18 runs after the ball clearly bounced before Daryl Mitchell took a catch. Had Markram been given the green light, and he was still in when a destructive Marco Jansen stepped to the crease, the South Africans could have racked up a far more intimidating total. Chasing 170 to win, New Zealand batters Finn Allen and Tim Seifert were under a lot less pressure than they could have been, and the relaxed opening pair took advantage of this by going bananas. They got a little lucky, and before the Proteas could blink, the game was taken away from them. Unpredictable format In ODI or Test cricket, one poor call by a match official won’t change an entire game. There is enough time for teams to gather themselves, show some patience and recover. In this play-off clash, I felt that one bad call changed everything. The Proteas were never really in it after that. Longer formats rely on skills more than luck, but T20 cricket is so unpredictable, a team who are clearly in the best form in a tournament can be crushed in a moment. It is obviously exciting to watch, as a lot of games go down to the wire, but the short format is no real reflection of a squad’s ability, and the Proteas’ single defeat doesn’t tell us anything about how well they played at the T20 World Cup.