South Africa did not know their best eleven, did not have a Plan B: Rhodes

South Africa neither knew their best playing XI nor had a plan B for challenging situations and it was hardly a surprise that their World Cup campaign became a series of disasters, said Jonty Rhodes in a scathing review of the team's performance.

It is only the second time that South Africa, who still have one league game to play before boarding the flight back home, have not made it to the knock-out stages of the World Cup.

"When I was asked a month ago when they started their campaign. The only thing that was going in their favour was no one was expecting much from them. Their last 12 months have not been pretty with regards to their domestic results or the international results and they did not know their best eleven," Rhodes told PTI here in an interview on Sunday.

"So when you go to a World Cup, and you have still not finalised your eleven, I think you are in trouble. They were generously ranked three or four at the start of the World Cup but probably played as per their strength on paper," he said on the sidelines of an event organised by ICC's beer partner Bira 91.

Rhodes, who played 52 Tests and 245 ODIs and is one of the best fielders to have played the game, said South Africa also paid the price for not having an alternate plan for tough situations.

"In a World Cup you have to convert your 40s and 60s into hundreds. We did not do that. We did not really have a Plan B.

"Plan A was to bowl fast, bowl teams out but England has two summers. One gives you cold and swinging conditions, the other is flat and hot. I think we just went there hoping to bowl people out with sheer pace. There are some good players and they are not going to succumb to short pitched bowling on good wickets."
"South Africa have not been in a World Cup final. From his point of view it (IPL final) is the biggest game he has played. Our cricketers don't take anything lightly. We have a history with the World Cup and we want to settle that and you can only do that by winning it. If he would have won a World Cup final there is no way he would have chosen IPL final over it."