With barely enough time to get their kit together, never mind plan and prepare, it’s little wonder the performances of the South African team in the West Indies have been so erratic.
In fact you could say that for all three teams. Consistency has been lacking for Australia and the hosts too. In the case of the home team it is expected given the drama over team selection. However in their case, following years of problems in the longer formats, two wins in the first three games does represent something of a step forward for a side led by a young captain.
Australia and South Africa’s inconsistent form is probably down to the limited time they’ve had to prepare for the triangular series.
Both teams had a number of important players involved in the Indian Premier League - well into the latter stages of that competition. AB de Villiers only joined his teammates three days before the first match, having flown almost halfway around the world to meet up with them.
In fact it was a group of just eight players that departed from OR Tambo three weeks ago, with others joining the squad in dribs and drabs over the following few days.
Attempting to create some sort of cohesion is difficult at the best of times, and the circumstances have been particularly difficult in the scenario South Africa and indeed Australia faced.
Acclimatising to conditions was a challenge too - initially because of the tournament being the first international one to be played under lights in the Caribbean - and then the nature of the surface in Guyana, where the event started and the pitch was alarmingly sluggish.
Throw injuries to some key players into the mix, and South Africa’s task became even harder.
Before last night’s key encounter with the hosts at Warner Park in St Kitts, De Villiers outlined his concerns about his side failing to combine as a team. The bowlers have been going alright so far and the top order batting seems in reasonable order but as a unit, South Africa hasn’t as De Villiers put it, ‘clicked yet’.
That will be the toughest task for De Villiers as captain and the coaching staff to achieve given the circumstances the players have been faced with in the disjointed build-up combined with the adjustments that they had to make.
The shortcomings have been plain for all to see - mixed performances with the bat, while the fielding has not been up to the standards commonly expected.
Changing personnel may not necessarily solve the problem either. Conditions have been difficult for batting, particularly the final 20 overs when the balls get softer, and as the South Africans found out in that defeat to Australia on the weekend, reverse swing comes into play.
There have been moans and groans about the middle and lower order, but for the likes of JP Duminy and Wayne Parnell, trying to score - and score quickly - has not been easy.
Even the Australians were lamenting their inability to make more of the last 15 to 20 overs, with George Bailey explaining that he needed to be smarter in how he went about getting runs in that period.
The only hope for South Africa is that the team can build cohesion through playing more. Last night’s match was an important one, and there are two more - and hopefully a third if they reach the final. - The Star