As bizarre as Pakistan winning the World Twenty20 was, having seen them get mauled in their first game by England of all teams, South Africa not winning the trophy was even more unfathomable.
Throughout the competition, they had been the team to beat. Strong in what seemed like every single department, they had been on the money right from the first ball. That they successfully defended scores of 130 and 128 was astounding, especially for Twenty20 cricket. When their batsman fired, they weren't so much finding the middle of the bat but locating the precise epicentre of their instruments and pummelling the ball to corners off of it.
Their bowling was irrepressibly strong, led by the menacing Dale Steyn and the frighteningly promising left armer Wayne Parnell. Time and again, they took early wickets to halt the momentum of opposition teams. Parnell picked up an incredible 4-13 against the West Indies and was one of the tournaments leading bowlers.
The brute force with the new ball was reinforced by solid, dependable pace bowling from Jacques Kallis and Albie Morkel. These two were utilised extremely intelligently by captain Graeme Smith - Morkel came on to bowl early against England, who were already two wickets down. He promptly bowled a wicket maiden, removing Kevin Pietersen, and retreated back to the field. He didn't bowl at all again in the innings, such was the strength of the other bowlers and Smith's desire to use him as a 'shock' bowler.
When teams needed slowing down, Smith turned to his spinners. Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe bowled quite exceptionally at times, placing a stranglehold on the batsman and taking crucial wickets. If ever they weren't working, and it was extremely rare that they weren't, JP Duminy could even bowl a tidy over or two.
The batsmen were led from the front by Smith himself and the arch accumulator Kallis. And with Hershelle Gibbs, Duminy, Mark Boucher, Morkel and the simply phenomenal AB de Villiers in the ranks, there were plenty of potential fireworks and, more importantly, strength in depth.
So why the hell did they not blitz this thing? Alas, it's a tired old story for South African cricket. No team is more worthy of the term 'chokers', not even the perennially disappointing England. Pundits and analysts have time and again tipped the Proteas for victory and nine times out of ten, they've looked like solid bets.
But, when it really matters, South Africa invariably fail in these tournaments. They can be brilliant in the run in, poleaxing teams into submission and dazzling everyone with their unquestionable ability. When the time comes to actually win something, they are incapable. They fail to do justice to their talent and billing and end up pointlessly wondering what in the world went wrong.
The list of near misses is endless and quite depressing; World Cups in 1999, 2003, 2007 - all should have delivered more. They even choked in the last World Twenty20, which they hosted. Having stormed past everyone, they were looking good to deliver the trophy in front of their own fans before losing what should have been a regulation game against India and bowing out.
Sometimes there's even a cruel comedy essence to their demise. 1999 and Allan Donald's needless run out handing Australia a semi final victory from the jaws of defeat. 2003 and the Duckworth/Lewis miscalculation - cue Mark Boucher calmly blocking the last ball of a Murali over, believing that they had reached the par score already (they were one run short).
Whilst they remain a fine team at present and surely a contender for the best in the world, there's a worrying trend in their tournament failures. Sure it's mighty impressive going to Australia and winning like they did in December. They're pretty much on top of the world and, frankly, deserve to be there. But for all the Test match supremacy they may be in line for, a trophy or two would be extremely welcome, especially for South Africa's limited overs-loving population.
Think of the supreme talents they've had in the last decade or so: Donald, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock, Smith, Gibbs, Makhaya Ntini. And now, the likes of de Villiers, Steyn and Parnell. Are they all to be tainted by the same tournament jinx? From a South African point of view, one hopes that, sooner rather than later, the Proteas can overcome this mental stumbling block.
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