Former Proteas head coach Rob Walter. Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
With the shocking resignation of Proteas limited-overs coach Rob Walter announced by Cricket South Africa on Tuesday, Independent Media's Ongama Gcwabe highlights the highs and lows of his two-year tenure.
The curse of the semi-final in ICC events for the Proteas men's senior team has always been a real, hard pill to swallow. With strong squads such as the 1999 World Cup squad and the AB de Villiers-led 2015 World Cup squad, South Africa just could not get over the line in the semifinals.
Walter, with a squad without as many stars, led South Africa to their first-ever final in the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados. This is the achievement that instilled belief in the Proteas squad and inspired generations to come.
While the team reached new heights in ICC events, they were shocking in bilateral series. In T20I series, Walter has only one series victory, last summer's 2-0 series victory against Pakistan, while he went on to lose against the West Indies home and away, lost to Australia at home and even failed to win a series against minnows Ireland.
The 49-year-old won only six out of 22 bilateral T20i matches. He had a similar record in One Day Internationals bilateral series as he won only 12 out of 25 matches, including a series loss to Afghanistan, a feat that saw the coach under pressure for most of his tenure.
If there is anything that has stood out in Walter's tenure, it has been his fearlessness in blooding in new and younger players into the Proteas set-up. Without Walter's boldness, chances are slim that the world would have seen the likes of Nqaba Peter, Dewald Brevis and Andile Simelane in the green and gold so early into their careers.
Because of Walter, the country's talent pool has widened, as many players have gotten the exposure they needed in order to have a feel of what international cricket is about.