Mulder is in as SA look to young ’uns
• Nineteen-year-old called up for one-day match against Bangladesh
Allan Donald will not be unhappy that Wiaan Mulder has been plucked from the crease in Potchefstroom and packed off to Paarl. On Monday‚ Mulder was batting for the Lions against the Knights in a first-class match in Potchefstroom.
Allan Donald will not be unhappy that Wiaan Mulder has been plucked from the crease in Potchefstroom and packed off to Paarl.
On Monday‚ Mulder was batting for the Lions against the Knights in a first-class match in Potchefstroom that is scheduled to end on Thursday.
His call-up was announced on Tuesday and on Wednesday, he will be part of SA’s squad for the second one-day international against Bangladesh.
Mulder’s inclusion comes at the expense of Wayne Parnell‚ who has been ruled out of the last two one-day internationals with a groin injury.
But Donald would no doubt prefer to see it as part of SA coach Ottis Gibson’s grand plan for the 2019 World Cup.
“He wants to see youngsters‚ and I think it will be good to see some young guys we’ve never seen before‚” Donald said before Mulder cracked the nod.
“I’ve read some names of guys I haven’t seen play all that much‚ but the fact that Ottis wants to play fringe players is wonderful,” he said.
“He’s expanding his scope‚ and it’s not a bad time to have a look and see what he wants. I like the idea of giving some young players a go and surrounding them with really good leaders‚ like AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla.”
That might make Donald sound like someone who wants his old job back. He was SA’s bowling coach under Gary Kirsten, and Gibson has yet to choose his assistants.
But there is no doubting that Mulder fits the bill. He is only 19 but has been playing for SA’s under-19 side since April 2015.
An allrounder‚ he has scored two half-centuries in five innings for the “Test” team and taken a dozen wickets at 15.33.
In 26 innings for the national under-19 one-day team‚ Mulder has made five 50s and claimed 31 scalps at 19.32 with a strike rate of 28.77 and an economy rate of 4.02. Those will remain simply numbers indicating potential until Mulder shows he belongs at the highest level.
He needs to look only as far as Parnell — who captained SA all the way to the 2008 under-19 World Cup final — to see how inconsistency and injuries can stymie what should be a great career. And also to see what happens when promise is fulfilled: SA’s opponents in that final were India. Their captain? Virat Kohli.
So Mulder should need no motivation should he make his debut on Wednesday.
There is no reason why he should not. On the evidence of the first one-day international in Kimberley on Sunday SA should be able to beat Bangladesh even if they put their support staff on the field.
The visitors‚ who lost both Tests by wide margins‚ looked up for it when they totalled a decent 278/7 — which they reached in no small part thanks to Mushfiqur Rahim scoring the first century by a Bangladeshi against SA‚ a fine 110 not out.
But SA dominated them at the batting crease‚ where Quinton de Kock made an undefeated 168 and Amla 110 not out to clinch victory by 10 wickets with 7.1 overs to spare.
The pitch was flat‚ the outfield fast and the straight boundaries unkindly short‚ but what undid Bangladesh was bowling that seemed bereft of ideas for how to contain the South Africans.
Paarl can swing both ways. SA made 301/8 against Sri Lanka there in 2012 — and then dismissed the Lankans for 43.
It is not difficult to imagine something similar happening on Wednesday. So much so that SA might want to send some of the players who did not get a knock on Sunday to the middle earlier than usual.
Yes‚ it has come to that for the hapless Bangladeshis.
Uncapped Robbie Frylinck‚ a ripe 33‚ has been named in the squad to play two T20s against the Bangladeshis.
“The selection
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of Robbie provides another opportunity to explore our depth in the important allrounder position‚” said selection convenor Linda Zondi.
The one-day internationals will be played in Paarl on Wednesday and in East London on Sunday‚ with the T20s in Bloemfontein next Thursday and Potch next Sunday.
Faf du Plessis (capt)‚ Hashim Amla‚ Farhaan Behardien‚ Quinton de Kock‚ AB de Villiers‚ JP Duminy‚ Robbie Frylinck‚ Beuran Hendricks‚ David Miller‚ Mangaliso Mosehle‚ Dane Paterson‚ Aaron Phangiso‚ Andile Phehlukwayo‚ Tabraiz Shamsi Chris Froome could face his toughest Tour de France challenge so far after organisers on Tuesday unveiled a 2018 route and format that are potentially unfavourable to the reigning champion.
The race, which will start on July 7, lacks a long, flat individual time trial where four-time winner Froome often pulverises his opponents.
Six mountain stages and four hilly stages are packed into the latter part of the Tour before it ends on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 29.
“It’s different every year and it’s difficult every year,” Froome said. “I like the look of the Alpe d’Huez stage, for me that’s the ‘Queen’ stage on this Tour,” he added, referring to the potentially decisive, gruelling climb.
Another tester will be stage nine, which follows a cobbled road to Roubaix, echoing the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic.
“It’s a massive challenge with a lot of windy, dangerous stages. I wasn’t counting on racing Paris-Roubaix this year but I’ll have to re-evaluate that now,” Froome joked.
“It’s going to be a very nervous race until we reach the Alps,” he said.
Such relentless hill and mountain terrain may well grind down Froome’s protective entourage, who have so successfully snuffed out attacks in recent Tours.
British sprinter Mark Cavendish said he was not looking to the hilly challenge.
“There’s lots of sprint opportunities early on but the second bit, I’m not really sure I’ll get that far,” said the Dimension Data rider with 30 Tour de France stage wins to his name.
The much lighter Simon Yates, the 2017 winner of the white jersey for under-25 riders, had other concerns.
“I’m a very light man, so I’m not looking forward to the wind in the Vendee,” the Briton said.
On top of that, teams will be allowed just eight riders in 2018 rather than the usual nine, leaving Froome less protected by his Sky teammates than he has been used to.
The 2018 route is basically split into two sections.
The first is largely flat but features a series of potentially punishing challenges.
They include a 35km team time trial on day three on windswept plains, then a Brittany run to the pretty seaside town of Quimper on day five featuring 10 hills.
The route designers have also built in two ascents of the feared Mur de Bretagne, while the cobbled road to Roubaix comes on stage eight .
When asked if the 2018 route would be tough for Sky captain Froome, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said all the riders taking part were champions. “But the winner will need the stamina to roll through windy plains and do well in the team time-trial and have enough steam to get through the mountains,” Prudhomme said.
“I know of a few such specimens from the Netherlands and from Britain,” he joked, without referring to Froome or the 2017 Giro d’Italia winner, Tom Dumoulin, by name.
Route designer Thierry Gouvenou said the switch between the two sections “is perhaps the greatest challenge of this Tour”.