SA cricket team to make the best of what they have

Suddenly, out of nothing, there is reason to hope SA will not be also-rans at the T20 World Cup starting in just over a month.

Having tried and failed to produce a team and a tactical blueprint conforming to international “best practice”, the Proteas have settled for maximising what they have.

Instead of searching for what is missing there’s plenty of that the national team is concentrating on its best resources which, unusually, are centred on spin bowling. Never before has there been such an abundance of slow bowling riches.

The outcry over left-arm spinner George Linde’s exclusion from the T20 World Cup squad was wrongly but understandably misinterpreted as criticism about the inclusion of Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin. But both are worthy of inclusion, as was Linde.

Maharaj has been a revelation as captain since taking over from the injured Temba Bavuma. His personable nature and kind demeanour off the field is matched on it for all to see but not tactically. Maharaj the gentle Hindu becomes a ferocious hunter with the captain’s armband on, and the Sri Lankans have noticed this during the ODIs and T20 series.

Whereas most captains ensure they have “something in reserve” for later during a limited-overs game, no matter how well things are going with the opposition at 80/6, Maharaj has the courage to fire all his strongest weapons in the belief that there will be no “later”.

The balance of the starting XI in Sri Lanka has been remarkably unusual. In the absence of three or four allrounders, the tendency of all international teams in such circumstances has been to add the insurance of an extra batsmen and make do with a couple of part-time bowlers to complete the allocation.

The Proteas have thrown the dice and come up with a alternative strategy. Not just one extra bowling option but two, with the sole all-rounder, Dwaine Pretorius, batting at No 6 and not bowling a single delivery. Specialist batsman Aiden Markram, a long-shot bowling option most of the time, returned figures of 3/21 in his four overs in Sunday’s win.

The responsibility for runs placed on the top five specialist batsmen works in two ways.

They play with a degree less abandon, as they may have done with a batting line-up packed with dashing allrounders down to No 10, like England’s, and they read the game more closely.

Quinton de Kock represents SA’s conundrum better than anyone. As the headline act in a band of superstars, he was not just permitted but encouraged to “solo” all he wanted because he has the ability to win matches, batting first or second, largely by himself.

Now, with the new formation, his wings have been marginally clipped. He has not been denied the opening batsman’s delights of the first six-over powerplay in which just two fielders are permitted on the boundary, but has been encouraged to temper his voracious appetite for runs just a little as he seeks to set a target or chase one down.

If it is not the making of him, it may be the making of the team. De Kock is so good that he can play any nature of innings, but the formation of those innings are in his head rather than his hands.

If SA are to have any chance of escaping a qualifying group including England, Australia and the defending champions, West Indies, they will almost certainly need De Kock to score 250+ runs.

The Proteas have shown themselves that they are an exceptional bowling and fielding team. They beat the West Indies on home soil with totals of 160. They scrambled out of embarrassing positions to beat Ireland with a flattering 3-0 scoreline, and they have shown again in Sri Lanka that 160 is their top line, setting or chasing. If that is the target area, they will be in the game.

To do so requires De Kock to be both haymaker and storage supervisor. Of course there are other batsmen who can, and will, score important runs, but only a bucketful from De Kock, in both guises, will give SA an outsider’s chance at the T20 World Cup. And oh, Tabraiz Shamsi will need not just to embed but to enhance his status as the No 1 ranked T20 bowler in the world.

Playing the shortest format of the game with just five specialist batsmen, one all-rounder and five specialist bowlers is bonkers. But it’s a gambler’s plan. And there didn’t seem to be any plan a while ago. SA won’t win the T20 World Cup but there’ll be plenty of reason to watch and applaud the boldness of their approach.

THE PROTEAS HAVE THROWN THE DICE AND COME UP WITH A ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY. NOT JUST ONE EXTRA BOWLING OPTION BUT TWO