Rotation? Rest? Rabada doesn’t have the time...

THERE may be no one better placed to assess the strength of the current Proteas’ pace bowling department than the man considered to be the leader of that hunting pack – even if he himself doesn’t like the abel too much.

Kagiso Rabada, all of 21, but showing wisdom beyond his years, maintains that he is but part of a unit, and he happens to “execute” his skills on any given day. The opinion of the opposition may differ quite strongly on that one, but young Rabada intriguingly finds himself as the most senior of the bowlers he currently goes to work with. Not that it matters.

“I think we have been performing really well as a bowling unit for some time. We are always confident going into a game but never complacent,” he remarked ahead of the fourth one-dayer in Hamilton, which started in the wee hours of this morning.

A buzzword around the South African team at the moment is “rotation”, and the song of the bees is strongest when it revolves around Rabada.

Finding the balance to protect his body and manage another huge season is a task for selectors and coaches, and Rabada is happy with the system.

“It’s a really good thing. We are in a good space with this new crop of players coming in. We have the luxury of a lot all-rounders which gives balance to the team. We have to judge the conditions on the day, some players will rest if the coaching staff feel that they need a est or if the conditions suit.”

Conditions in New Zealand have agreed with the Proteas thus far, and deciding who to leave out has become a really tricky matter. Everyone

is putting their hands up, what with permanent places to be considered for the Champions Trophy in June.

Rabada, of course, is one of the first names on the list when it comes to must-win games, but he is also full of respect for the job that the suits are doing in trying to keep him at optimum level.

“They (selectors) don’t just manage on performance, but also give guys rest so that they can come back feeling stronger. With the chopping and changing around, it shows that everyone is capable of fulfilling heir role.”

When South Africa lost Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander to injury, at various stages of the last 18 months, the reality hit home that, much like thoroughbred horses, fast bowlers are always on that fine line; one minute running like the wind, but one hop away from something snapping. Naturally, the cotton-wool is never too far away from Rabada, especially when dead rubbers and lesser series come into it. The St Stithians product insists, respectfully of course, that he is still the best judge of just how he is doing physically. “I feel fine,” he quipped, to a question that has become all too ommon at his press calls. “Are you feeling weary, KG?” “Do you want to miss the next game?” “I feel like I am the main person when it comes to judging how I feel, and truthfully as well. Sometimes you play with niggles and sometimes you feel fresh. Sometimes niggles come and go away, sometimes they stay a bit longer. The longer that I have played, the more I have learned to manage myself with the help of the medical team who give me advice, which I take accordingly.”

That was as sincere as one of his 145km/h bouncers. The leader – whisper it, of course – of the South African pace attack feels in good nick. He is young, fit and revelling in causing havoc around the world.

Given his remarkably meteoric rise to the top, it is easy to forget that Rabada is still a youngster with a handful of first-class matches under his belt. He is a first-time visitor to New Zealand, and wants to play at every ground, and see every sight. Rest? Rotation? He might volunteer for such when he breaches 27, and the exuberance of youth has been replaced by the uncompromising toil of the road. Until then, the laaitie wants to play, whenever, wherever.