Golden oldie Van Wyk bolsters Proteas
THERE is no truth to the rumour that Ray Jennings and Dave Richardson are considering comebacks, or that Mark Boucher is training hard for the new season.
But they would be forgiven for trying to remember where they had hung up their gloves and pads, what with Morné van Wyk’s recall yesterday for the two Twenty20s and three one-day internationals SA will play against New Zealand this month.
If Van Wyk can crack the nod at 36, Jennings, Richardson and Boucher might also be in with a shot. But, perhaps not. Jennings is 60 and Richardson 55, and although Boucher is in the ballpark at 38, he was forced out of cricket by an eye injury.
But Van Wyk is the oldest active regular wicketkeeper-batsman in SA franchise cricket. He is also among the best.
In October Van Wyk scored an undefeated 175 to help the Dolphins beat the Knights by 10 wickets in a One-Day Cup match in Bloemfontein. Cameron Delport made 169 not out and the unbroken stand of 367 is a world record for any wicket in one-day cricket.
In January Van Wyk smashed 114 not out in SA’s 69-run win in a Twenty20 against West Indies at Kingsmead.
He reached at least 50 in seven of his 13 first-class innings for the Dolphins last season, scoring two centuries and averaging 79.33 — the best performance with the bat by any wicketkeeper in the 2014-15 franchise firstclass competition.
All of which led to a minor clamour for Van Wyk’s inclusion in SA’s World Cup squad.
He missed out and also did not make the tour to Bangladesh.
But Quinton de Kock’s axing, AB de Villiers’ return from paternity leave, JP Duminy’s absence from the one-day series due to imminent fatherhood and David Wiese’s inclusion have cleared the way for Wiese’s return — in the one-dayers at least.
“We are grateful for AB accept- ing that he will keep in the T20s,” selection convenor Linda Zondi said yesterday.
“We didn’t want to destruct the batting line-up and especially the middle order. We’re looking at David Wiese as batting all-rounder at No 7. Losing JP, it’s important to have someone like him in the middle order. To have Morné (batting) up front gives us a good balance.”
Russell Domingo said: “AB finds it extremely challenging keeping wicket, batting No 4 and captaining. He finds ODIs most mentally and physically draining — I don’t want the best batsman in the world to cramp. We know Morné van Wyk can do the job, and 36 is still a good age for a T20 cricketer.”
Also missing from the one-day squad in Bangladesh are Ryan McLaren, Morné Morkel — also about to become a father — Chris Morris and Wayne Parnell. Beuran Hendricks and Morris are the other casualties.