Gibson: attitude has to be right
There has been plenty of talk about the Proteas having half an eye on the World Cup and experimenting with players in their series against Zimbabwe that starts in Kimberley on Sunday, but coach Ottis Gibson knows full well that unless his team do the basics well, all planning will go out the window.
As Afghanistan’s tie with India earlier this week showed, the so-called minnow nations can no longer be underestimated in white-ball cricket.
“Zimbabwe will have their own reasons for wanting to do well and we can’t take anything for granted. We still have to go out there and play. We want it to be as competitive as possible and if our attitude is not right then we will get rolled over. Fortunately the players know the opportunities before the World Cup will get less and less, so they have to make every one count,” Gibson said.
Among the players looking to make an impression are a number of batsmen – Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Khaya Zondo, Christiaan Jonker and Heinrich Klaasen. But they are all boys, relatively speaking, in international cricket and Gibson said this was the main reason Dean Elgar has been brought back into the picture despite not playing an ODI in three years.
“There are a few holes with the batting and without Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla we have no real seniors. I imagine Dean’s selection is a talking point, but we’ve picked a lot of youngsters and he is a like-for-like replacement for Hashim. We’re thinking a bit further ahead.
“Given Dean’s record for just about every county he has played for in England, he clearly comes into the conversation. We also want to see Heinrich Klaasen a bit longer, while Chris Jonker did well in the T20 he played for us and his numbers are good in domestic cricket. We’ve set out to have two players in every position before the World Cup,” Gibson said.
Elgar averages 74.25 in one-day cricket for Somerset, at a strikerate of 94.13, and 57.25 in his four matches for Surrey this year, in which he scored three half-centuries at a strike-rate of 91.60.