WATING IN THE WINGS
OZ TOUR: AIDEN, REEZA IN LINE TO FILL AMLA’S BOOTS Fast-bowling stocks look healthy ahead of Aussie trip.
The Proteas will still be without the services of Hashim Amla for their limited-overs tour of Australia that starts next week, with Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram seemingly being the chief beneficiaries.
Coach Ottis Gibson confirmed at the end of the Zimbabwe series, the last match being washed out in Benoni at the weekend, that Amla has still not fully recovered from the finger injury he suffered during Caribbean Premier League action at the beginning of last month.
“Hashim and Quinton de Kock have been a fantastic opening pair for a long time, but Hashim’s finger is not yet ready and we’ve discussed with him that he won’t be considered for the Australian tour. Reeza and Aiden have been very good in franchise cricket, but up till now one has been opening and the other batting at three, and we want to see how they go in their more familiar positions.
“The pitches in the Zimbabwe series were a bit tough and we didn’t see as much of them as we would have liked. But we know where they are in the order, they’re both very good players and definitely in our thoughts for the World Cup. In the last 12 months we’ve looked at maybe 35-40 players, now that window is closing all the time, we are getting closer and closer to the players we want,” Gibson said.
While Heinrich Klaasen, whom Gibson said the selectors “liked” and “can bat anywhere in the top six”, has also come through well on the batting front, from a paucity of bowling options not that long ago, the Proteas suddenly looked well-stocked again with the return of Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi’s breakthrough.
“In the last 12 months we’ve tried to identify bowlers and Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi have done really well. We know what they can do, and Imran Tahir had some time off and then came back and showed why he is our number one spinner. He’s also mentoring Tabraiz Shamsi, which is great and we have high hopes for him as well.
“But what has given me real excitement has been Dale Steyn, to see him back bowling at that level, that quickly and with that skill and accuracy, has been very pleasing. Given the history of World Cups and recent performances in England, the ball will seam and swing in May, but I’m quite sure there will also be space for two spinners in our team,” Gibson said.