C is for credit where it's due. Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers looked to be seeing South Africa home, until Jacob Oram's brilliance on the ropes and Faf du Plessis' suicidal quest for a single respectively undid the star duo. While the Proteas brains trust has pled daily that they weren't just relying on three or four players to see them through, Kallis and de Villiers certainly led the gang of batting performers throughout the tournament. All in vain, though.

H is for the Heimlich Maneuver the Proteas were never going to orchestrate with a tail longer than Graeme Smith's face at the end of it all. Johan Botha is not a number seven batsman and passing Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel off as would-be all-rounders is very much old hat.

O is for 'Oh no! Not again!' 1992's robbery, 1996's pain at the hands of Brian Lara, Allan Donald's brain fart in 1999, 2003's miscalculation, 2007's ineptitude and now 2011's stupidity - there's no escaping their mental frailties and no amount of past glories over India, England or Australia will be able to make up for yet another lack of graduation in a major ICC event.

K is for the multiple knives that will be out when the pundits and armchair critics sit down to dissect South Africa's demise. When asked by Mark Nicholas why it is that the Proteas have made an awful habit of losing knockout matches, Smith's response was simply: "Your guess is as good as mine." The defeated skipper's lamentation is pretty much on the money, with not one thing other than perhaps twisted, cruel fate behind their dogged history.

E is effort and a fine one, indeed, from the Black Caps. From Jesse Ryder's top-order vigil and Kane Williamson's late cameo to Nathan McCullum's gutsy approach and Man of the Match Oram's all-round expertise, there's no taking away from the men in black. As much as the focus sits on the Proteas' downfall, so the Black Caps must be heralded for their triumph. While their opposition are once again tagged with the 'c' word, the Kiwis are better set than ever to shrug off their inability to go all the way.

R is for ridiculous. From Hashim Amla's ricochet off Brendon McCullum's boot, the crazy amount of dot balls through the New Zealand knock, the string of wasteful hacks from the Proteas batsmen - what was JP Duminy thinking? - and the sheer daftness of South Africa's capitulation from 108 for two to 172 all out, Friday's showdown took on a life of its own amid an otherwise orthodox set of quarter-finals.

S is for the sorry state of affairs that awaits the Proteas upon their return home and deservedly so. A plethora of early exits from major tournaments later, there are no longer any excuses. Just as well Smith announced before the tournament that he'd throw in the ODI captaincy this month. At least that wise decision has dulled one of the knives the thousands of fickle fans have in waiting...