Exclusive: ‘It Would Not Surprise Me If They Go All the Way,’ Says Former Proteas All-Rounder Chris Morris

Former Proteas all-rounder backs the Proteas to reach the 2026 T20 World Cup final, citing an abundance of match-winners in the team as a feat that will guide them all the way to the final. 

Having played World Cup cricket in India a decade ago himself, the 38-year-old highlighted intensity as a feat that tests teams the most in India.

Prediction & Match-Winners

Two matches into the ongoing 10th edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, South Africa remain unbeaten, having gotten past Canada with relative ease on Monday, and then completed a hard-fought double super over victory over Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Their clash against Afghanistan is one that World Cricket will never forget, as the two teams drew the match in the allotted two overs, went on to draw the first super over, and had the result in the second super over, with the Proteas holding their nerve to get over the line in Ahmedabad.

In an exclusive interview with SportsBoom.co.za, Morris reckons that the Proteas have what it takes to go all the way to the final in this year’s showpiece event, citing an abundance of match-winners as his key reasoning.

Morris’ belief manifested itself on Wednesday, with Lungi Ngidi winning the Player of the match Award, while David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis and Keshav Maharaj all played important roles in South Africa winning the match.

“It would not surprise me at all if we go all the way to the final again. It would not surprise me at all. We have definitely got the potential, we've got the match winners, and we've got the experience to do it,” Morris told SportsBoom.co.za. 

“I think every single person in that team stands up at the moment. We've got match winners from number one to number 11. Even Keshav Maharaj, who is not considered a world-renowned T20 spinner, can do a job, and he's proven in the past that he can do a job in T20 cricket, and there's a reason why he keeps getting picked there."

“Lungi Ngidi, KG Rabada and Corbin Bosch at the moment, all those guys that are match winners in their own right. We've had superstars in our team in the past that people will always talk about, whereas now, you look through the team from one to 11, and you're going, he can win the game, but if he gets in, he can win the game, and if he gets in, he can win the game."

“I personally feel it's a really balanced side, a balanced squad, and you've got guys that are in-form in that tournament.”

Intensity of playing in India

About a decade ago, Morris was in the Proteas T20 World Cup squad that travelled to India and came up short in the Super 10 stage of the competition.

It was a squad that was led by Far du Plessis and featured ICC hall of famers AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla. 

Having played in that World Cup, Morris got to understand what it means to play World Cup cricket in India, a country with the biggest fan base of the sport.

Morris advised the Proteas to brace themselves for high intensity on and off the field in India.

“In India, it’s just intensity from when you wake up in the morning to when you get to game time. People in India are buzzing for the cricket that’s in their country, so the buzz is real,” Morris said.

“It's a World Cup, and we obviously know the history that South Africa has in World Cups and White Ball Tournaments, so you arrive with a little bit of added pressure. But the way the Proteas have played going into the World Cup and the confidence that they'll take out of being in the previous World Cup Final against India, you take a lot of confidence out of that and a good series against the West Indies."

“You take that confidence going into a tournament like that with the intensity that it actually brings, it sometimes keeps you rather focused on the job. The Proteas are quite a tight-knit unit, so every single intense moment that arrives, those guys are there to handle it."

“It’s so intense the whole time in India, just because it's, apart from the actual tournament itself, the whole buzz around cricket in India is hectic and you're in a high-intensity environment and the last thing you want to be doing is not matching up that intensity in every single game, it doesn't matter who you're playing against.”

2016 T20 World Cup

In 2016, Morris and his Proteas teammates were involved in a match that broke records at the time. It was a clash between them and the Proteas at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where the Proteas set 230runs to win, which England chased down with two balls to spare, a chase that at the time was the highest ever recorded in T20 World Cup history.

Morris told SportsBoom that he indeed still thinks about that match at times, and how they were supposed to win it, but were taken apart by Joe Root and his teammates.

“That was 10 years ago, obviously, we ended up on the losing side, but it was an unbelievable game of cricket. Especially coming off a T20 series win against England going into that tournament, and then I think we beat India in a warm-up game at the Wankhede too, so we had a lot of confidence,” Morris said.

“They scored 200 and plenty, thinking you're in the prime seat, but the way England came out and counter-punched and obviously led them to getting into that World Cup final, which we know what happened in that World Cup final, but they took that intensity of what we brought and matched it and almost did better."

“I don't want to say nightmares, but I still look back at that game and go, flip, we should have won that game. Sometimes it takes one person, and on that day, it took about three or four people in the England batting lineup to put in performances to win the game. It boils down to intensity."

“The nice thing is, you look at that tournament, we lost to two teams (and West Indies), and both of them were in the final. It’s an old cliche of winning the big moments in a game, and the World Cup's big moments arrive often. Whoever handles that pressure and that intensity in that moment is usually the teams that go all the way because they can handle those pressure situations," he concluded.