Gearing up for World Cup
Gibson to try out some new players
Proteas coach Ottis Gibson says he will try out new players and combinations during the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, which starts at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley on Sunday.
Gibson has named a largely inexperienced squad without captain Faf du Plessis‚ batting kingpin Hashim Amla‚ star wicketkeeper/batsman Quinton de Kock and master blaster David Miller for the visit by Zimbabwe.
Reeza Hendricks‚ Christiaan Jonker‚ Heinrich Klaasen‚ Khaya Zondo and Test opener Dean Elgar have been given a further opportunity to prove themselves in white ball cricket with the World Cup in England less than a year away.
“We have looked at some guys and perhaps this series against Zimbabwe and the next one against Australia are probably the last in which we will be giving opportunities to guys we have not had the opportunity to see.
“I have spoken to the selectors about that‚” Gibson said on Wednesday.
“We wanted to see Klaasen a little bit longer. Jonker came in and did very well for us in the T20 against India.
“His numbers in the franchise system are pretty good.
“What we set out to do from the outset was to try to have two players for every position.
“David [Miller] has not had a lot of runs recently, but we know what he can do, and again this is an opportunity to see Jonker in that position.”
The Proteas host Pakistan in the end-of-the-year series and Gibson said he hoped to pick a squad as close as possible to the team that will represent SA at the World Cup next year.
“By the time we get to the series against Pakistan later in the year and against Sri Lanka into the new year‚ we will be looking to pick the team that is likely to go to the World Cup‚” the coach said.
“This is still an opportunity to see one or two other players.
“I sat down with Faf [Du Plessis] and one or two other senior players to discuss the journey to the World Cup and what we need to do to win that tournament.
“These games against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka are giving us opportunities to look at players and also to see how players can fit into the system we want to play.
“We want this series to be as competitive as possible. You can’t take anything for granted‚” he said. –