The unsolved Proteas mystery
WELLINGTON: Fresh from a few rounds of golf and some deep sea fishing, the Proteas will return to the nets today in preparation for their final Pool B World Cup match with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
The players and management have sought great inspiration from these little breaks during previous bilateral series, with the group often returning mentally recharged to tackle the next challenge head-on.
The UAE may not specifically be a stern test of the Proteas’ World Cup credentials, but the minds would have already shifted to a looming quarterfinal, and the fact that the hunt for the ideal starting line-up remains as much a mystery as it was before this tournament started almost a month ago now.
The quandary, of course, relates to how best South Africa can find the correct balance. At various times in this competition thus far, different options have been utilised depending on the opposition.
In both big matches – against India and Pakistan respectively – the intended plan did not reap dividends. At the MCG, the Proteas brainstrust opted for the extra seamer at No 7 in Wayne Parnell but the southpaw conceded 85 runs in nine overs to allow the world champions to stack up 307/7. South Africa only managed a meagre 177 in response.
At Eden Park last Saturday, the inclusion of the seventh batsman was of no benefit to South Africa as they were bundled out for a paltry 202 in just 33.3 overs. In fact, the lack of the extra bowler was exploited by Pakistan as part-timers AB de Villiers and JP Duminy had the joint figures of 1/77 in nine overs at the run-rate of 8.33 per over.
Considering it was a lowscoring match and that South Africa eventually only fell 29 runs short, the amount of runs De Villiers and Duminy leaked was arguably the pivotal difference between the two teams.
“It’s always a trade-off between whether you play seven batsmen or whether you go with five bowlers. It’s difficult when you don’t have an allrounder in the calibre of say Jacques Kallis perhaps. When you don’t have that type of allrounder you are always going to have a trade off,” national selector on tour Hussein Manack said yesterday.
“You either go with seven batsmen and the fifth bowler can be made up of a few batsmen who can bowl, or alternatively you would go with a fifth specialist bowler and you may end up being a batsman light. It also depends very much on the conditions and the opposition.”
South Africa’s problems have been further exacerbated with Vernon Philander’s chronic hamstring issues, with the all-rounder’s absence lengthening the Proteas’ tail. Although Kyle Abbott has impressed with eight wickets since deputising for the injured Philander and showed he can be a defiant character with bat in hand last Saturday, South Africa would be craving for more solidity with the bat lower down.
Regarding the immediate challenge that lies ahead though, it will interesting to see whether South Africa actually tinker with the line-up even further, considering the opposition. Someone like Aaron Phangiso could get some gametime due to the fact that he is the only squad member yet to play at this World Cup, or whether some positive performances for the current playing XI will help their confidence heading into the knockout stages.
“It is still early in the week and only after chatting to Russell (Domingo) and bouncing it off the rest of the selection panel will any decisions be made. There are a few considerations. The most important thing is winning the World Cup,” Manack said.
“How do we do that? If that means giving fringe players who haven’t had an opportunity a chance, then we need to do that. If it means giving the guys who have already been playing more gametime then we need to do that.
“Everything we do, even the decisions taken against a team like UAE, we will have to keep this mind.”