Now that they are in the semi-finals and second on the points table, it's easy to forget that the South African team was effectively given this World Cup as a free hit. In January, when their automatic participation hung by a thread and a new coaching structure was put in place, the message was simple: get there and that's all we want. "They are not going to be judged on that World Cup," Enoch Nkwe, CSA's director of cricket, said at the time.
But of course, now they will be. If not by Nkwe and the suits at CSA then by cricket fans. After the way they've batted and even the way they have chased (successfully, once, unsuccessfully twice), expectation has risen. So, perhaps it's no bad thing that their final group match is essentially a free hit. The pressure is completely off South Africa, who will use the match in Ahmedabad as a dress rehearsal for a dream. Yes, even the team themselves have one eye on the final.
Yesterday, bowling coach Eric Simons mentioned it when asked about what South Africa will hope to take out the last game and, today, David Miller threw in the f-word (yes, we mean, "final") three times, in answer to three different questions about 1) the size of the stadium in Ahmedabad, 2) playing Australia in the semi-final and 3) what he could tell people from home about the experience of being a Gujarat Titan, who is based at this venue.
That means he knows what to expect from a packed Narendra Modi Stadium, and possibly even from an emptier one. "It's always a good spectacle here at this ground and I'm really excited for what lies ahead, potentially being here in the final. It will be a great, great achievement," he said.
Greater still, because few people even thought South Africa would advance to the knockouts and the way they have played so far has already earned them much praise. Now, all that may sound like South Africa are getting carried away and already looking 10 days ahead - and they might be - but they'd be cautioned not to. Afghanistan have already topped three former champions in England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and came close to downing a fourth, who are also South Africa's semi-final opponents, Australia.
South Africa have only played Afghanistan once before, at the 2019 World Cup where they beat them by nine wickets - yes, chasing. That's important because batting second is clearly South Africa's weaker suit, even though Miller reiterated an earlier expression from Temba Bavuma that "the guys believe they can chase anything". They managed 271 against Pakistan, but only just, and fell 38 short against Netherlands and conceded their blueprint batting second needs work. Over the last few days "we have spoken about and dissected it and it's just about making sure that we've got that platform and giving ourselves the best chance to chase down a total," Miller said.
He emphasised that South Africa "haven't been horrific chasing," which is probably true, but they haven't been good either. This year, they've won 10 out of 11 games batting first and four out of nine batting second. At this World Cup, both defeats have come in chases and it's clearly an area of South Africa's game that can be exploited and there are not too many things they can tweak in personnel to change that. The extra batter, Reeza Hendricks, played two matches when Bavuma was ill but is likely to sit out again unless South Africa are willing to go in a bowler short.
Given that one of Lungi Ngidi or Kagiso Rabada is likely to be rested, that would be too big a risk to take. Andile Phehlukwayo should get a game, his first of the tournament, after being brought in as a replacement for Sisanda Magala, who was ruled out with a knee injury. Phehlukwayo's comeback could be seen as a microcosm for South Africa's as a whole. He lost ground to other allrounders including Marco Jansen and lost his national contract earlier this year and found his way back after injuries to Magala and Wayne Parnell. He has since done his fair share of substitute fielding, including taking three catches and dropping one, and has been a constant presence around the group. "The guys have been phenomenal off the field, really supportive and done their roles and trained really hard," Miller said. "He's certainly given a lot to the team and brought a lot of energy so it's been great to see and that's the kind of thing that we want: to still pour in and give and not just take."
At Thursday's optional training session, Phehlukwayo was one of the few present and the only one seen padded up for a net session, which is as strong an indication as any that he's set to play. And if he does, it will also be a free hit for him, and a chance to show what he can do without any very serious consequences. Next week, that will all change.