Probably the best team to have never won the big one, South Africa have often put their fans, such as Sibongile Mafu, through the grinder with their near misses at six consecutive ICC World Cups

A sight seen first in Sydney ‘92 and repeated in Birmingham ‘99, Durban ‘03 and Dhaka ‘11 — to name a few of South Africa’s infamous World Cup chokes.

One run is needed. Three balls are still to be bowled. Damien Fleming is at the beginning of his run up. The entire Australian team is inside the circle, trying to stop the single. On strike is Lance Klusener. The way he has batted in this tournament, we are confident he will smack one over the field for a four.

At our home in Port Elizabeth, me and my brother are already celebrating.

They’ve started rejoicing on the streets too. The next thing I remember of that fateful day is Alan Donald walking back to the pavilion and all those men in yellow celebrating like maniacs on the pitch. The rest is a blur. Of course, I’ve seen the match several times since but if you’d ask me to recall that specific moment, I can’t remember what happened in between the time when we were celebrating and when the Australians started jumping in joy.

They ask us what’s it like to be a fan of the South African cricket team. The answer is just one word: pain. The pain stems from the fact that you are the best team in the world, with some of the coolest players the game has seen, yet you falter when it matters the most.

A painful reminder

Earlier this week, Cricket South Africa put up an interactive element on their website, which offered a glimpse into the team’s previous World Cup campaigns. Their intention perhaps was to relive the past moments. But all it did was to remind us of our painful campaigns.

The way we were robbed in 1992. The heartbreak of ‘99. Embarrassment we faced as hosts in 2003. The list is endless. I inherited the pain from my father. He was more into rugby but cricket is close to every South African. It’s one sport that we are good at, competitive in, has its heroes, and most of all, it’s well-branded.

Maybe it’s because they play a lot in the country and across the country — from East London and Port Elizabeth to Cape Town and Johannesburg. It’s in school, parks. That’s how I got hooked to cricket. It was everywhere when I was growing up. And when I started waking up in the middle of the night to watch the matches being played in Australia, I knew I was in love with cricket.

The frustration

Little did I know the pain I was signing up for, however. The frustration comes from them not being able to cross the finish line. Chokers, they call us. At times, I find that a bit harsh. We get a lot of flak when we lose close games but we aren’t the only ones losing such matches. Perhaps it’s more scrutinized because of our team’s history. We have been among the top three sides for ages but haven’t won anything.

If we win, then the ‘chokers’ monkey will finally be off our backs and can shut people up. And going into this World Cup, the general feeling across South Africa is that this will be our year. No, really.

Of all the previous World Cups, 1999 was perhaps our best chance having come so close with a really good set of players. The result in 2003 was more embarrassing than soul-crushing. Most of the country was like, how did that happen? It was such a rookie mistake. The team wasn’t expected to do that well and it happened early in the tournament. So it didn’t hurt that much.

It was the same case in West Indies, we weren’t really confident of the team and it was always going to be tough to beat India or Pakistan in the subcontinental conditions in 2011. But there’s a real sense of optimism this time. We have a team that is really special and have played very well in the last 12 months. And the conditions will be such that the players will enjoy playing there.

Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel…all these players have it in them to cross the finish line. They know how to up their game at the right time, change the gears to propel the team to a win. We all saw how destructive AB can be. He is among the most revered sportspersons in South Africa. The Springboks are usually the ones who are treated like stars but they are shy. Cricketers are right up there, and AB is the face of the team. He is called by many names like AB the God and Wonderkid.

Still, people have warmed up to Amla more than AB. The entire country appreciates the Amla story. He is humble, incredibly consistent and a perfect leader. They like the way he bats as well, and of late, he has shown he can hit the ball really well too. People look at him and there is this reassurance that here is the man who can help us exorcise our ghosts.

If there is one concern, it’s our bowling. In Steyn and Morkel, we have the two best fast bowlers but the support bowlers aren’t that good. It’s been a problem for quite some time and an issue that is bothering us a lot considering that all teams have really good battling line-ups.

Still, with this bunch of players it’ll be a shame if we do not return with the trophy. One thing that hurts all South Africans is that for all that they’ve done for the sport in the country, some of the legends won’t have anything to show for it. Jacques Kallis won’t have a World Cup to his name and that hurts me a lot as a fan. Donald will be remembered for the run out in 1999. Shaun Pollock and Mark Boucher will always be mocked for their miscalculation in 2003.

As a nation, we have matured as fans. There is a general appreciation about the players and the efforts they put in. We used to be harsh on them but no one in South Africa ever felt they don’t give their 100 percent.

This is a good time to be a Proteas fan. Maybe our time has come, finally.