Selection issues for the Proteas due to injuries
SOUTHAfrica may be forced to abandon their newly-acquired opening partnership after just one game, due to the hand injury of JP Duminy.
The all-rounder, who will be replaced by Test opener Dean Elgar in the one-day squad, is a fulcrum of the side, as his inventive batting and his solid off-spin bowling provide skipper AB de Villiers with peace of mind.
In his absence for the last two matches of the series, here in Chennai tomorrow, and on Sunday in Mumbai, the tourists will have to do some rejigging. It is highly unlikely that Elgar,
pictured, who arrived in the early hours of this morning, can’t be expected to slot straight into the fire, especially given his long trek, and the high stakes.
If the management decide to allow him a few days to acclimatise, it looks likely that spinner Aaron Phangiso will play as the second slow bowler. Though that will shorten the batting card, it will give De Villiers a handy foil during the middle overs. To go in without a second spinner, in conditions that are bound to turn, would be a bold move.
But, of course, Phangiso would extend an already lengthy tail. One of South Africa’s slight weaknesses in one-day cricket has been the lack of a lower-order wildcard batsman, in the mould of India’s Harbhajan Singh.
The Indian spinner may not necessarily score 50s, but he often chips in with a quick 30, and his wicket can never be taken for granted. Dale Steyn can give it a bunt, and Kagiso Rabada has shown some promise, but it would be quite a leap of faith to bat one of them at seven, in a potentially decisive match.
The Proteas’ specialist bowlers do not provide the same level of comfort to the top six, and it is perhaps understandable why the selection panel would be reluctant to go with just six specialist batsmen.
The other, safer option would be to play bowling allrounder Chris Morris, who is capable of a cameo down the order, and performed well with the ball in the T20 international series that preceded the 50-over fare. Morris may not win a game with the bat, but he is no bunny. He moved to the Titans because of ambitions to bat higher up the order in franchise cricket.
The third option for the Proteas would be to blood Khaya Zondo, the reserve specialist batsman in the squad. Though the Dolphins middle-order star is untested at this level, he has enjoyed success in India.
During last year’s Champions League T20 competition, he was one of the few shining lights for the Dolphins, with his inventive scoring at the back of the innings – including a real comfortability against the spinning ball. Zondo also bowls occasional off-spin, though it would be a huge gamble to chuck him the ball with the likes of Virat Kohli in full flow.
Ultimately, to throw Zondo into the deep end, in a massive game, would go against the Proteas’ policy of nursing youngsters through the early stages of their international careers. Zondo would almost certainly play in the final game of the series if the Proteas leave Chennai with the series in the bag.
Elgar will train with the Proteas in their final preparation before tomorrow’s day-night clash. But it would be most surprising to see him inserted straight into the playing team, which means that South Africa will have to switch things around.
With the middle-order suddenly thin, David Miller is likely to return to No 6 in the order, and provide the firepower at the back end of the innings. The Proteas usually prefer horses for courses, but a few of their fillies are currently out of the running. It will be interesting to see just who they take to the races tomorrow.