5 reasons why South African cricket is in a state of crisis

The South Africans, who sat atop the ICC Test rankings for a long time, have slipped from their throne after a series of woeful performances in the past year. The last twelve months have seen nine Test matches and zero Test wins, a steep drop from the lofty pedestal they were on just a year back. Here’s a look at five reasons why South African cricket is in a state of crisis:

#1 Amlas captaincy not as impactful as Smiths

Amla hasn't been able to carry his enigma with the bat into his captaincy.

Amla took over the captaincy in 2014 from Graeme Smith, the most successful captain of South Africa. His first assignment was a two-match series against Sri Lanka in July 2014, which the South Africans won 1-0. He continued with victories against Zimbabwe and West Indies over the next year. However, during his tenure, the Proteas managed to win only four Tests out of the fourteen they’ve played. The last one year has been abysmal, with South Africa losing four of their six matches, managing to draw two.

His batting has taken a bit of beating too, with an aggregate of only 131 runs in six Test matches against Bangladesh and India.  He overcame a dip in form with a double-century against England, but another defeat led him to resign from the post midway through the series, with the mantle now falling on AB deVilliers.