Major tournaments and a tag of being 'amongst the favourites' has not been a happy union for South Africa in recent years.
But the marriage of Imran Tahir to his (Cow Corner presumes) lovely wife could be the very thing which helps South Africa banish those ghosts.
If it had been England who were on the receiving end of the '22 runs from one ball' incident of 1992, we'd still be grumbling about it now.
The South Africans bore that on their shoulders, and then were saddled with the additional World Cup heartache of losing the 1999 semi-final to Australia from a position of needing one run from four balls to win.
And that's to say nothing of the Duckworth-Lewis miscalculations in 2003 on home soil.
Coming into the tournament, the Proteas have emerged into a major force in all aspects of the game.
Three of the top 10-rated ODI batsmen are Saffers, including Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers in the top two spots. And three of the bowlers make the top 10 for good measure.
But for subcontinental conditions South Africa have taken every precaution, worrying that once again that firepower on its own might still not be enough.
So the tenth-best bowler in the game, according to the official rankings, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, found himself dropped to accommodate Tahir - who immediately proved why.
The leg-spinning debutant took four for 41 from ten overs, ripping out the heart of the West Indies, who, through Darren 'it's too soon to compare him to Brian Lara but doesn't he play an awful lot like him' Bravo were building a good foundation.
He settled into a rhythm while depriving the batsmen of theirs - bowling bewitching leggies and surprising wrong 'uns, drawing the sting out of the innings in the middle overs.
He will have to take a fresh look at where he lands in his follow-through, admittedly - coming all the way across the non-striker's stumps, he earned two warnings from the umpires and another would have ended his afternoon prematurely.
Now, with his talents allied to the off-spin of Johan Botha and the slow left-arm of Robin Peterson, South Africa have a spin attack which has considerably more teeth than Paul Harris rolling his fingers over the ball on a defensive leg-stump line.
And with Dale Steyn (right) looking incisive and Morne Morkel hostile, the early signs are that South Africa's attack is as sharp as it is balanced.
At 31, Tahir's route to a South Africa shirt has been about as unorthodox as his leg-spin - which features ample turn and a well-disguised googly - is orthodox.
Born in Pakistan, he has travelled far and wide for a game of cricket, including stints with four English counties and several years playing in South Africa, as well as for a host of quite brilliantly-named Pakistani outfits.
Who, after all, couldn't rouse themselves when representing the Water and Power Development Authority?
South Africa became his home when he married and citizenship followed.
Even then the road to international cricket has been bumpy - he was first called up during the Test series against England last winter - only for the selectors to find, somewhat embarrassingly, that he wasn't eligible yet.
There are no such doubts now, and Tahir has a career's worth of experience to call upon as he finally tastes the international limelight.
With South African fans having shaken their heads in frustration as the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott went on to play leading roles for England, perhaps they will feel that the scales balance a little better now.
de Villiers may have pipped him to the man of the man award for a coruscating century to steer the chase into calm waters, but it is Tahir who may change South Africa from nearly-men into World Cup winners.
We got a glimpse of how relaxed South Africa were - and how focused they were on the occasion - before the game, when the PA system cut their national anthem halfway short.
Graeme Smith grinned, and several others followed, while de Villiers led the team - and their travelling support - through the rest of the song.
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