SPORTMATTERS Cook still in mix
Prolific Lions opener may still be called up by Proteas - Zondi
THE Proteas door is not closed for Lions opener Stephen Cook, according to national convenor of selectors, Linda Zondi.
When Zondi announced the squad he and the rest of his selection panel had settled on for the rest of the Test series against England, the most eyecatching name was the one that was not on the list – again.
“It is a tough one with Stiaan ( Van Zyl) because we believe in him, but opening the batting is not easy,” Zondi explained yesterday.
“The challenge at the moment is deciding how much is enough time to show that he can do it. India was tough for everyone, which is why we felt it was best to give him another chance in the first two Tests.
“We know he has the potential, but we are also aware of what Stephen (Cook) is doing. He has been on our radar for a while now, which is why he was picked for the SA ‘A’ side.
“He is very close, and there is no reason why we can’t add him to the squad for the final Test, if we feel we have to,” Zondi added.
It is yet another hoop for Cook to jump through, but he has dutifully negotiated most of them to this point. Make runs: Tick. Make more runs: Tick. Top the averages: Tick. Do well for the ‘A’ side: Tick. Make yet more runs: Tick.
Overlooked
And yet, for all his runs, his patience and his dignified silence, Cook was again overlooked for the gig. Given that the third Test is on his own patch, at The Wanderers, where he has feasted on visiting attacks for years with the Lions, one can’t help but feel that Zondi and his fellow wise men have missed a trick here.
The extended faith shown in Van Zyl, struggling to find his feet as a reconfigured opener at the highest level, has added strain to a batting order that already had its own problems.
Some of those concerns were alleviated in the New Year’s Test, but the one at the very top is still very much on the agenda.
It is a soap opera omnibus that has been going on for almost two years now, ever since Graeme Smith retired from international cricket in March 2014. Cook’s name, through sheer weight of runs, was immediately in the hat, along with those of Reeza Hendricks, Andrew Puttick and Van Zyl.
Not all of those players are specialist openers but, like the practice in the corporate arena, a position was ‘created’ for Van Zyl. Like an under-qualified intern planted in his own executive office, he has been desperately trying to justify that show of faith ever since.
Unusual
The sad thing is that all of this is not the Cobras batsman’s fault. And, truth be told, there are certainly few players who would say no to the chance of at least trying to make a fist of being a Test cricketer, even if turning out in an unusual position.
The selection regime that came before Zondi and company started this confusion, by inserting Van Zyl (the next batsman in the squad) at the top, because there were no vacancies in the middle-order.
It was a dangerous game to start, and the domino effect of that convenient selection is causing a growing headache now.
If Van Zyl does get dropped, does he go back to being next in line for the middle-order, where he was before he was shifted up? What of JP Duminy or Rilee Rossouw? This is the cul-de-sac that the selectors have driven up, and making a U-turn now looks increasingly awkward.
At some point, though, something has got to give. Runs for Van Zyl at The Wanderers (the exact number is another conundrum) buys more time for everyone – except Cook, of course. Among many explanations explored for his exclusion is the fact that he is 33, and too old to be a long-term solution.
That is plainly ridiculous because cricket is played in the moment, and there are plenty of matches for the relentless Cook to play right now, and over the next few years, to at least put the debate to bed.
“I don’t think we have ever said that Cook is too old. I would never say that about any player,” Zondi insisted.
“Obviously he would be a shorter term solution, but if people are scoring runs, you have to consider them as options.
“It was pleasing to see guys like JP Duminy and Dane Vilas go back to domestic cricket and do so well. There is strong competition for places, which gives us good problems,” he enthused.
The middle-order is, as ever, not short of options, but with Faf du Plessis and Temba Bavuma back among the runs for South Africa at Newlands, the plundering of Paarl may well come to nought for several players.
One of those who made merry in wineland is Cook, naturally, as he has served up yet another reminder to the selectors, with another serious contribution at the top of the order for the Lions.
The more he scores, and the more Van Zyl fails, the more farcical the situation seems.
Through all of this, Cook has kept his head down and his numbers up.
He has not tweeted or ranted, or even considered penning a strongly worded letter to the powers that be, as is the supposed norm for those who feel shunned these days.
In cricket, numbers still speak far louder than words, and all the Lions opener can do is keep the conversation up via the domestic scorecard.
Maybe, just maybe, before he becomes too much older, he will eventually be called up, to at least try to jump through the ultimate hoop of the international cricket circus.
Surely, he deserves at least that much. THE Dolphins and the Warriors were frustrated for a third day in a row when no play was possible in their Sunfoil Series cricket match at the Oval in Pietermaritzburg yesterday.
Play was called off at 2.45pm with heavy clouds squatting above the field as they had been the whole day.
Over the three days, regular periods of drizzle and bad light, as well as no sunshine or wind, have prevented the game from getting started.
The original problem on Thursday was a pitch with some soft, greasy areas caused by excessive sweating under the covers the previous day and night.
Wednesday’s heavy rain followed three days of brutal heat when damp hessian was spread over the pitch to keep the cracks from widening.
The umpires, Johan Cloete and Stephen Harris, said the match was now a one-innings affair with no batting or bowling bonus points on offer.
If both first innings are completed, the winners gain six points. If they are not completed, neither team earns points. If no play is possible today, both teams earn five points from a completely abandoned match. –