Chokers meaning in cricket: Why are South Africa termed Chokers in cricket?

South Africa just again proved why they are termed as ‘chokers’ in the ICC tournaments. Having dominated the tournament from the scratch, and even beating India with ease, the South African team lost the last two matches on the trot to get eliminated from the tournament.

South Africa just needed a win against the Netherlands to qualify for the semi-final, and they were certainly the favourites to do so. However, things were not meant to be. Netherlands managed to score 158 runs in the first innings, the pitch was a little slow, but it was an achievable target.

The South African side never looked in the chase and lost wickets at regular intervals, and they managed to score just 145-8 in their quota of overs. With this 13-run defeat, South Africa got eliminated and India qualified for the semi-final without even playing their last match.

Chokers meaning in cricket

South Africa always have had some star players in their ranks, but the fact that they have never gotten past the semi-final stage of any of the World Cups certainly proves that the team has always crumbled with expectations. Choking in sports can be referred to as not being able to perform as per expectations.

In 1992, they South African team was quite unlucky, and the rain rule ook away their chances to qualify for the final of the World Cup. They needed 22 runs off the last 13 balls, but after the rain, they needed 21 runs off one ball, which was impossible to achieve.

The South African team was started called the chokers when they could not win the semi-final against Australia in the 1999 World Cup. Australia were bundled out for 213 runs, but the South African side could manage just a tie, and based on their performance in the Super-6 stage, South Africa got eliminated.

Even during the 2015 World Cup, they were considered one of the favourites, but they lost in the semi-final of the tournament against New Zealand. New Zealand eliminated South Africa in the 2011 World Cup as well. South Africa topped their group in 2011, but again got eliminated in the knockout stages.

With the last two performances in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, it is safe to say that the Proteas have the tendency to choke under pressure conditions. They dominated the tournament but lost to the Netherlands, in the end, to get knocked out. The luck was not with them in this tournament as well, where their match against Zimbabwe got abandoned due to rain.