Angry South African fans raged all day on radio talk shows and at workplaces on whether Jacques Kallis could have rescued the team from being knocked out
JOHNANESSBURG: Angry South African cricket fans raged all day on radio talk shows and at workplaces on whether Jacques Kallis could have rescued the team from the almost unthinkable spectre of being knocked out of a semi-final berth in the ICC Twenty20 World Championship by India on Thursday.
Kallis, who was left out of the side and subsequently resigned as vice-captain of the squad in anger, has apparently resolved his differences with cricket authorities and was packing his bags to join the team when they leave for a tour of Pakistan next week.
While many callers felt that Kallis had the kind of experience to have saved South Africa after they desperately tried to just remain in the series when it was clear that they could not beat the target set by India, others felt the new format of the game was too fast-paced for Kallis.
Those in his defence though said that only if he had been given a chance to be part of the team could this have been known.
Angry fans were analysing the shock dropout by South Africa at workplaces and on radio stations all day Friday, even raising the spectre of match-fixing again.
One caller to Talk Radio 702 said he could understand why sceptical fans would believe that some match-fixing was involved, especially when the same team had scored more than 200 on the same field just a night earlier.
Nonetheless, fans have now turned their attention to the two semi-finals to be played out over the weekend and the final of the inaugural Twenty20 Championships here on Monday.
New Zealand take on Pakistan in Cape Town and India take on Australia in Durban Saturday.
The final will be played at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Monday, with a record crowd expected because it is a public holiday.
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