<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-254502" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/AB-de-Villiers-4.jpg" alt="AB de Villiers" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-254502" class="wp-caption-text">AB de Villiers of South Africa. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)</figcaption>

The 12th edition of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-world-cup-2019/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Cup</a> cricket will kick off at the Oval, England, on May 30 and the first match will be played between the hosts and South Africa. This is only the second time in the history of the showpiece tournament (after 1992) that there will be no groups in the preliminary stage and all 10 teams will play each other in a round-robin format before the top four place-holders advance to the semi-finals.

England are hosting the tournament for the fifth time since 1975 though South Africa will be playing only their second World Cup in that country after 1999 when they had their biggest heartbreak in the tournament. This is also the first World Cup in which all Test-playing nations will not be participating (Zimbabwe and Ireland missed out in the qualification tournament).

We are covering how the 10 participating teams have done in World Cup cricket and here we take up South Africa, currently ranked third in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/joe-root-back-in-top-five-of-icc-test-batting-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ICC</a> table, after England and India. South Africa have always remained a potential champion who could never realise their dream.

Of the 54 matches they have played in WC so far, South Africa have won 35, lost 17 and tied two though both those ties were costly. They played their first tournament only in 1992 after returning from the Apartheid ban and in the seven editions they played, the Proteas made the semi-finals four times but could never cross that hurdle once, thanks to inexplicable rules and regulations as well as their own collapsing nerves.

World Cup 1992; lost to England in the semi-final

Led by Kepler Wessels, South Africa hammered a powerful Australia by 9 wickets in their very first game in WC and went on to win five of eight games in the round-robin league. They became the first African side to qualify for the semifinals in a cricket World Cup but there, utter bad luck awaited them, thanks to the bizarre rain rules in the tournament.

Against England, the Proteas required 22 runs off 13 balls at one stage but a downpour at that moment saw their target being reduced to 22 off 1 ball as two overs got deducted but no runs. It was certainly one of the game’s biggest moments of shame in those pre-Duckworth-Lewis-Stern rule days.

World Cup 1996; lost to Windies in quarter-finals

Under <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/jonty-rhodes-feels-life-didnt-give-hansie-cronje-chance-redeem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hansie Cronje</a>, the South Africans were the most consistent team in this World Cup winning all their five games in the group stage (champions Sri Lanka also won all but two of them were forfeited). They beat debutants UAE by 169 runs; New Zealand by 5 wickets; England by 78 runs; co-hosts Pakistan by 5 wickets and the Netherlands by 160 runs. The Proteas looked one of the favourites to lift the title till they rammed into a wall called Brian Charles Lara. The Caribbean’s 111 in Karachi in the quarter-finals stunned SA by 19 runs and they crashed out.

World Cup 1999; crashed out after a tied semi-final

Cronje was at the helm once again and the Proteas were off to an impressive start, beating India by 4 wickets in the first match. They thrashed Sri Lanka by 89 runs and co-hosts England by 122 runs; Kenya by 7 wickets but lost to Zimbabwe by 48 runs in their final group game. They still advanced to the Super Six as group champions and beat Pakistan by 3 wickets and got better of New Zealand by 74 runs before losing to Australia in a significant game by 5 wickets.

It was in this match that centurion <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/herschelle-gibbs-compares-virat-kohli-to-john-lennon-in-his-latest-social-media-post/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herschelle Gibbs</a> dropped Australian skipper and centurion Steve Waugh and the latter mocked him saying that he had just dropped the World Cup. Waugh’s prophecy turned out to be brutally true for the Proteas as a tied semi-final meant Australia went through to the finals since they were placed higher than their opponents.

South Africa were favourites right till the end in the semi-final but a disastrous delay by Allan Donald in responding to the winning run hit by Lance Klusener saw him getting run out and his team agonisingly out of yet another World Cup.

World Cup 2003; failed to make it beyond group stage

This is the World Cup in which South Africa failed to cross the group stage. Led by <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/icc-world-cup-2019-shaun-pollock-backs-south-africa-to-win-the-mega-event/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shaun Pollock</a>, the Proteas had a forgettable start by losing to Windies by 3 runs. They then beat Kenya by 10 wickets; lost to New Zealand by 9 wickets by the then Duckworth-Lewis method; beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets; beat Canada by 118 runs before seeing another fateful tie with Sri Lanka in a rain-curtailed encounter.

It was later told that while chasing, SA made a mess of the target and missing out on a win eventually saw them getting booted out in the tournament which they had co-hosted along with Zimbabwe and Kenya.

World Cup 2007; lost to Australia in semi-finals

Graeme Smith’s SA were clubbed with Australia, the Netherlands and Scotland in Group A of this World Cup played in the Windies. The Proteas thumped the Netherlands by 203 runs and Scotland by 7 wickets but lost to Australia by 94 runs in a high-scoring chase.

In the Super Eight stage, South Africa overcame a Sri Lankan challenge narrowly by 1 wicket despite a hat-trick from <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2019-decision-on-lasith-malingas-participation-to-be-taken-by-coaching-staff-and-slc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lasith Malinga</a>. They defeated debutants Ireland by 7 wickets in D-L method but endured a shocking loss to Bangladesh by 67 runs.

The roller-coaster run continued as Smith’s men beat Windies by the same margin and then went down to New Zealand by 5 wickets next. SA ended the Super Eight stage as the fourth best team by wrapping up the league with a 9-wicket victory over England. They faced Australia again in the semi-finals but this time, it was a completely one-sided affair as the defending champions bundled out their opponents for just 149 and won by 7 wickets.

World Cup 2011; lost to New Zealand in quarter-finals

Under Smith again, SA were back to their vintage consistency in this edition. They started by drubbing the Windies by 7 wickets and the Netherlands by 231 runs but then suffered a shocking six-run defeat against England. Thereafter, the Proteas beat the hosts India (3 wickets), Ireland (131 runs) and Bangladesh (206 runs) to end up as the champions of Group B. But then, it was a repeat of the 1996 WC as SA tumbled in the quarter-finals and this time, it was Jacob Oram who cut their stay in the WC short by taking 4 wickets for 39 runs.

World Cup 2015; lost to New Zealand in semi-finals

SA looked to rewrite history afresh Down Under after their 1992 tragedy and they were captained by <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ab-de-villiers-hails-naomi-osaka-takes-a-sly-dig-at-serena-williams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AB de Villiers</a> this time. South Africa had to earn their win over Zimbabwe in the first match (by 62 runs) but were thrashed by India by 130 runs in their second game. De Villiers made every ball he faced in the next match against the Windies count by belting 162 not out in just 66 balls to help his team register a 257-run win.

They had another 400-plus total in the next match against Ireland and won by 201 runs but lost next to Pakistan by 29 runs in a curtailed game. De Villiers came up with a 99 in the next encounter against the UAE which the Proteas won by 146 runs and ended up as the group runners after India. In the quarter-finals, South Africa bulldozed Sri Lanka by 9 wickets to make their fourth semi-final at the World Cup.

The Proteas were up against the Kiwis who were unbeaten till that point and even after setting the opponents a challenging target of 298 in 43 overs, De Villiers’ men could not win over their nerves as Grant Elliott’s 73-ball 84 guided NZ to win with one ball to spare. It was the Kiwis’ maiden WC final but not SA’s. The teary-eyed Proteas players on the day made it yet another tragic occasion for the ‘chokers’.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-match-predictions/">Match Predictions</a>, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/fantasy-cricket-tips/">Fantasy Cricket Tips </a>and lots more on <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/">CricTracker.com</a>.

<figure id="attachment_254502" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-254502" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-254502" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/AB-de-Villiers-4.jpg" alt="AB de Villiers" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-254502" class="wp-caption-text">AB de Villiers of South Africa. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The 12th edition of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-world-cup-2019/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Cup</a> cricket will kick off at the Oval, England, on May 30 and the first match will be played between the hosts and South Africa. This is only the second time in the history of the showpiece tournament (after 1992) that there will be no groups in the preliminary stage and all 10 teams will play each other in a round-robin format before the top four place-holders advance to the semi-finals.
England are hosting the tournament for the fifth time since 1975 though South Africa will be playing only their second World Cup in that country after 1999 when they had their biggest heartbreak in the tournament. This is also the first World Cup in which all Test-playing nations will not be participating (Zimbabwe and Ireland missed out in the qualification tournament).
We are covering how the 10 participating teams have done in World Cup cricket and here we take up South Africa, currently ranked third in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/joe-root-back-in-top-five-of-icc-test-batting-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ICC</a> table, after England and India. South Africa have always remained a potential champion who could never realise their dream.
<h3>South Africa at World Cup</h3>
Of the 54 matches they have played in WC so far, South Africa have won 35, lost 17 and tied two though both those ties were costly. They played their first tournament only in 1992 after returning from the Apartheid ban and in the seven editions they played, the Proteas made the semi-finals four times but could never cross that hurdle once, thanks to inexplicable rules and regulations as well as their own collapsing nerves.
<h3>World Cup 1992; lost to England in the semi-final</h3>
<amp-img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317217" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-1992.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-1992" width="700" height="500" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
Led by Kepler Wessels, South Africa hammered a powerful Australia by 9 wickets in their very first game in WC and went on to win five of eight games in the round-robin league. They became the first African side to qualify for the semifinals in a cricket World Cup but there, utter bad luck awaited them, thanks to the bizarre rain rules in the tournament.
Against England, the Proteas required 22 runs off 13 balls at one stage but a downpour at that moment saw their target being reduced to 22 off 1 ball as two overs got deducted but no runs. It was certainly one of the game’s biggest moments of shame in those pre-Duckworth-Lewis-Stern rule days.
&nbsp;
<h3>World Cup 1996; lost to Windies in quarter-finals</h3>
<amp-img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317218" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-1996.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-1996" width="700" height="500" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
Under <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/jonty-rhodes-feels-life-didnt-give-hansie-cronje-chance-redeem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hansie Cronje</a>, the South Africans were the most consistent team in this World Cup winning all their five games in the group stage (champions Sri Lanka also won all but two of them were forfeited). They beat debutants UAE by 169 runs; New Zealand by 5 wickets; England by 78 runs; co-hosts Pakistan by 5 wickets and the Netherlands by 160 runs. The Proteas looked one of the favourites to lift the title till they rammed into a wall called Brian Charles Lara. The Caribbean’s 111 in Karachi in the quarter-finals stunned SA by 19 runs and they crashed out.
<h3>World Cup 1999; crashed out after a tied semi-final</h3>
<amp-img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317219" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-1999-criclet.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-1999-criclet" width="700" height="500" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
Cronje was at the helm once again and the Proteas were off to an impressive start, beating India by 4 wickets in the first match. They thrashed Sri Lanka by 89 runs and co-hosts England by 122 runs; Kenya by 7 wickets but lost to Zimbabwe by 48 runs in their final group game. They still advanced to the Super Six as group champions and beat Pakistan by 3 wickets and got better of New Zealand by 74 runs before losing to Australia in a significant game by 5 wickets.
&nbsp;
It was in this match that centurion <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/herschelle-gibbs-compares-virat-kohli-to-john-lennon-in-his-latest-social-media-post/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herschelle Gibbs</a> dropped Australian skipper and centurion Steve Waugh and the latter mocked him saying that he had just dropped the World Cup. Waugh’s prophecy turned out to be brutally true for the Proteas as a tied semi-final meant Australia went through to the finals since they were placed higher than their opponents.
South Africa were favourites right till the end in the semi-final but a disastrous delay by Allan Donald in responding to the winning run hit by Lance Klusener saw him getting run out and his team agonisingly out of yet another World Cup.
&nbsp;
<h3>World Cup 2003; failed to make it beyond group stage</h3>
<amp-img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317220" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-2003.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-2003" width="700" height="500" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
This is the World Cup in which South Africa failed to cross the group stage. Led by <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/icc-world-cup-2019-shaun-pollock-backs-south-africa-to-win-the-mega-event/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shaun Pollock</a>, the Proteas had a forgettable start by losing to Windies by 3 runs. They then beat Kenya by 10 wickets; lost to New Zealand by 9 wickets by the then Duckworth-Lewis method; beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets; beat Canada by 118 runs before seeing another fateful tie with Sri Lanka in a rain-curtailed encounter.
It was later told that while chasing, SA made a mess of the target and missing out on a win eventually saw them getting booted out in the tournament which they had co-hosted along with Zimbabwe and Kenya.
&nbsp;
<h3>World Cup 2007; lost to Australia in semi-finals</h3>
<amp-img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317221" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-2007.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-2007" width="700" height="500" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
Graeme Smith’s SA were clubbed with Australia, the Netherlands and Scotland in Group A of this World Cup played in the Windies. The Proteas thumped the Netherlands by 203 runs and Scotland by 7 wickets but lost to Australia by 94 runs in a high-scoring chase.
In the Super Eight stage, South Africa overcame a Sri Lankan challenge narrowly by 1 wicket despite a hat-trick from <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2019-decision-on-lasith-malingas-participation-to-be-taken-by-coaching-staff-and-slc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lasith Malinga</a>. They defeated debutants Ireland by 7 wickets in D-L method but endured a shocking loss to Bangladesh by 67 runs.
The roller-coaster run continued as Smith’s men beat Windies by the same margin and then went down to New Zealand by 5 wickets next. SA ended the Super Eight stage as the fourth best team by wrapping up the league with a 9-wicket victory over England. They faced Australia again in the semi-finals but this time, it was a completely one-sided affair as the defending champions bundled out their opponents for just 149 and won by 7 wickets.
&nbsp;
<h3>World Cup 2011; lost to New Zealand in quarter-finals</h3>
<amp-img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317222" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-2011.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-2011" width="700" height="500" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
Under Smith again, SA were back to their vintage consistency in this edition. They started by drubbing the Windies by 7 wickets and the Netherlands by 231 runs but then suffered a shocking six-run defeat against England. Thereafter, the Proteas beat the hosts India (3 wickets), Ireland (131 runs) and Bangladesh (206 runs) to end up as the champions of Group B. But then, it was a repeat of the 1996 WC as SA tumbled in the quarter-finals and this time, it was Jacob Oram who cut their stay in the WC short by taking 4 wickets for 39 runs.
<h3>World Cup 2015; lost to New Zealand in semi-finals</h3>
<amp-img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317223" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-2015.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-2015" width="700" height="500" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
SA looked to rewrite history afresh Down Under after their 1992 tragedy and they were captained by <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ab-de-villiers-hails-naomi-osaka-takes-a-sly-dig-at-serena-williams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AB de Villiers</a> this time. South Africa had to earn their win over Zimbabwe in the first match (by 62 runs) but were thrashed by India by 130 runs in their second game. De Villiers made every ball he faced in the next match against the Windies count by belting 162 not out in just 66 balls to help his team register a 257-run win.
&nbsp;
They had another 400-plus total in the next match against Ireland and won by 201 runs but lost next to Pakistan by 29 runs in a curtailed game. De Villiers came up with a 99 in the next encounter against the UAE which the Proteas won by 146 runs and ended up as the group runners after India. In the quarter-finals, South Africa bulldozed Sri Lanka by 9 wickets to make their fourth semi-final at the World Cup.
The Proteas were up against the Kiwis who were unbeaten till that point and even after setting the opponents a challenging target of 298 in 43 overs, De Villiers’ men could not win over their nerves as Grant Elliott’s 73-ball 84 guided NZ to win with one ball to spare. It was the Kiwis’ maiden WC final but not SA’s. The teary-eyed Proteas players on the day made it yet another tragic occasion for the ‘chokers’.
<h4>Get the latest Cricket News and updates,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-match-predictions/">Match Predictions</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/fantasy-cricket-tips/">Fantasy Cricket Tips&nbsp;</a>and lots more on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/">CricTracker.com</a>.</h4>

<figure id="attachment_254502" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-254502" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-254502" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/AB-de-Villiers-4.jpg" alt="AB de Villiers" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-254502" class="wp-caption-text">AB de Villiers of South Africa. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The 12th edition of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-world-cup-2019/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Cup</a> cricket will kick off at the Oval, England, on May 30 and the first match will be played between the hosts and South Africa. This is only the second time in the history of the showpiece tournament (after 1992) that there will be no groups in the preliminary stage and all 10 teams will play each other in a round-robin format before the top four place-holders advance to the semi-finals.
England are hosting the tournament for the fifth time since 1975 though South Africa will be playing only their second World Cup in that country after 1999 when they had their biggest heartbreak in the tournament. This is also the first World Cup in which all Test-playing nations will not be participating (Zimbabwe and Ireland missed out in the qualification tournament).
We are covering how the 10 participating teams have done in World Cup cricket and here we take up South Africa, currently ranked third in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/joe-root-back-in-top-five-of-icc-test-batting-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ICC</a> table, after England and India. South Africa have always remained a potential champion who could never realise their dream.
<h3>South Africa at World Cup</h3>
Of the 54 matches they have played in WC so far, South Africa have won 35, lost 17 and tied two though both those ties were costly. They played their first tournament only in 1992 after returning from the Apartheid ban and in the seven editions they played, the Proteas made the semi-finals four times but could never cross that hurdle once, thanks to inexplicable rules and regulations as well as their own collapsing nerves.
<h3>World Cup 1992; lost to England in the semi-final</h3>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317217" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-1992.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-1992" width="700" height="500" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px">
Led by Kepler Wessels, South Africa hammered a powerful Australia by 9 wickets in their very first game in WC and went on to win five of eight games in the round-robin league. They became the first African side to qualify for the semifinals in a cricket World Cup but there, utter bad luck awaited them, thanks to the bizarre rain rules in the tournament.
Against England, the Proteas required 22 runs off 13 balls at one stage but a downpour at that moment saw their target being reduced to 22 off 1 ball as two overs got deducted but no runs. It was certainly one of the game’s biggest moments of shame in those pre-Duckworth-Lewis-Stern rule days.
&nbsp;
<h3>World Cup 1996; lost to Windies in quarter-finals</h3>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317218" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-1996.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-1996" width="700" height="500" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px">
Under <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/jonty-rhodes-feels-life-didnt-give-hansie-cronje-chance-redeem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hansie Cronje</a>, the South Africans were the most consistent team in this World Cup winning all their five games in the group stage (champions Sri Lanka also won all but two of them were forfeited). They beat debutants UAE by 169 runs; New Zealand by 5 wickets; England by 78 runs; co-hosts Pakistan by 5 wickets and the Netherlands by 160 runs. The Proteas looked one of the favourites to lift the title till they rammed into a wall called Brian Charles Lara. The Caribbean’s 111 in Karachi in the quarter-finals stunned SA by 19 runs and they crashed out.
<h3>World Cup 1999; crashed out after a tied semi-final</h3>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317219" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-1999-criclet.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-1999-criclet" width="700" height="500" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px">
Cronje was at the helm once again and the Proteas were off to an impressive start, beating India by 4 wickets in the first match. They thrashed Sri Lanka by 89 runs and co-hosts England by 122 runs; Kenya by 7 wickets but lost to Zimbabwe by 48 runs in their final group game. They still advanced to the Super Six as group champions and beat Pakistan by 3 wickets and got better of New Zealand by 74 runs before losing to Australia in a significant game by 5 wickets.
&nbsp;
It was in this match that centurion <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/herschelle-gibbs-compares-virat-kohli-to-john-lennon-in-his-latest-social-media-post/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herschelle Gibbs</a> dropped Australian skipper and centurion Steve Waugh and the latter mocked him saying that he had just dropped the World Cup. Waugh’s prophecy turned out to be brutally true for the Proteas as a tied semi-final meant Australia went through to the finals since they were placed higher than their opponents.
South Africa were favourites right till the end in the semi-final but a disastrous delay by Allan Donald in responding to the winning run hit by Lance Klusener saw him getting run out and his team agonisingly out of yet another World Cup.
&nbsp;
<h3>World Cup 2003; failed to make it beyond group stage</h3>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317220" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-2003.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-2003" width="700" height="500" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px">
This is the World Cup in which South Africa failed to cross the group stage. Led by <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/icc-world-cup-2019-shaun-pollock-backs-south-africa-to-win-the-mega-event/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shaun Pollock</a>, the Proteas had a forgettable start by losing to Windies by 3 runs. They then beat Kenya by 10 wickets; lost to New Zealand by 9 wickets by the then Duckworth-Lewis method; beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets; beat Canada by 118 runs before seeing another fateful tie with Sri Lanka in a rain-curtailed encounter.
It was later told that while chasing, SA made a mess of the target and missing out on a win eventually saw them getting booted out in the tournament which they had co-hosted along with Zimbabwe and Kenya.
&nbsp;
<h3>World Cup 2007; lost to Australia in semi-finals</h3>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317221" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-2007.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-2007" width="700" height="500" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px">
Graeme Smith’s SA were clubbed with Australia, the Netherlands and Scotland in Group A of this World Cup played in the Windies. The Proteas thumped the Netherlands by 203 runs and Scotland by 7 wickets but lost to Australia by 94 runs in a high-scoring chase.
In the Super Eight stage, South Africa overcame a Sri Lankan challenge narrowly by 1 wicket despite a hat-trick from <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ipl-2019-decision-on-lasith-malingas-participation-to-be-taken-by-coaching-staff-and-slc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lasith Malinga</a>. They defeated debutants Ireland by 7 wickets in D-L method but endured a shocking loss to Bangladesh by 67 runs.
The roller-coaster run continued as Smith’s men beat Windies by the same margin and then went down to New Zealand by 5 wickets next. SA ended the Super Eight stage as the fourth best team by wrapping up the league with a 9-wicket victory over England. They faced Australia again in the semi-finals but this time, it was a completely one-sided affair as the defending champions bundled out their opponents for just 149 and won by 7 wickets.
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<h3>World Cup 2011; lost to New Zealand in quarter-finals</h3>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317222" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-2011.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-2011" width="700" height="500" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px">
Under Smith again, SA were back to their vintage consistency in this edition. They started by drubbing the Windies by 7 wickets and the Netherlands by 231 runs but then suffered a shocking six-run defeat against England. Thereafter, the Proteas beat the hosts India (3 wickets), Ireland (131 runs) and Bangladesh (206 runs) to end up as the champions of Group B. But then, it was a repeat of the 1996 WC as SA tumbled in the quarter-finals and this time, it was Jacob Oram who cut their stay in the WC short by taking 4 wickets for 39 runs.
<h3>World Cup 2015; lost to New Zealand in semi-finals</h3>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-317223" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/South-Africa-in-world-cup-2015.jpg" alt="South-Africa-in-world-cup-2015" width="700" height="500" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px">
SA looked to rewrite history afresh Down Under after their 1992 tragedy and they were captained by <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ab-de-villiers-hails-naomi-osaka-takes-a-sly-dig-at-serena-williams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AB de Villiers</a> this time. South Africa had to earn their win over Zimbabwe in the first match (by 62 runs) but were thrashed by India by 130 runs in their second game. De Villiers made every ball he faced in the next match against the Windies count by belting 162 not out in just 66 balls to help his team register a 257-run win.
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They had another 400-plus total in the next match against Ireland and won by 201 runs but lost next to Pakistan by 29 runs in a curtailed game. De Villiers came up with a 99 in the next encounter against the UAE which the Proteas won by 146 runs and ended up as the group runners after India. In the quarter-finals, South Africa bulldozed Sri Lanka by 9 wickets to make their fourth semi-final at the World Cup.
The Proteas were up against the Kiwis who were unbeaten till that point and even after setting the opponents a challenging target of 298 in 43 overs, De Villiers’ men could not win over their nerves as Grant Elliott’s 73-ball 84 guided NZ to win with one ball to spare. It was the Kiwis’ maiden WC final but not SA’s. The teary-eyed Proteas players on the day made it yet another tragic occasion for the ‘chokers’.
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Of the 54 matches they have played in WC so far, South Africa have won 35, lost 17 and tied two.