Tough Selections Ahead

The Australians must be fuming with the South African batsmen injuring themselves –then having their replacements score match-saving innings. For the second time now that South Africa have toured Australia, they have had their in-form number six batsman injured, replaced by a debutant –and having him securing the ship from being drowned by the Australian bowlers with their skilful pace and “weapons of mass-destruction”.

Gary Kirsten was the head coach for the Indian team before being head coach for the Proteas. But even with the extensive amount of talented players he had to choose from in India, doesn’t compare the nightmares he and the rest of the selection panel have to face coming towards the last Test match of the series which starts on Friday November 30.

I feel that Jacques Rudolph has been given enough time to prove himself –and hasn’t quite put his hand up since his readmission to the Proteas Test side. I’m personally a huge Rudolph fan, but at the same time, I’m a true believer in being in top cricket teams with consistent performances and not average –especially when a cricketer has got the talent and capability to do almost the “impossible”. Question marks now linger around cricket discussions on coffee tables as to who shall replace Rudolph if Kirsten and his Test captain, Graeme Smith, decide to execute that brave decision.

Dean Elgar is a solution but many feel that he hasn’t played a lot of 4 day cricket this season with many of the Chevrolet Knights’ matches being called off by rain. Not only that, but having so much in-experience in your batting order (Elgar and Faf du Plessis) is a hole that could easily be exposed –despite Du Plessis’ success at Adelaide. We need AB De Villiers! It’s very evident that he’s not quite in himself with the bat. May this be because of the glove-work getting into the way? We all can sit and debate that –but only he knows the honest answer to that question. De Villiers was once quoted saying that he’s not really eager in taking over the gloves from Mark Boucher. That may have been a while back –but there was still some doubt coming from him in that answer. Other wicket-keepers who have done the job from high school cricket until their professional careers have talked about wicket-keeping with such passion and gusto –not as a burden and “team-balance” as how De Villiers has spoken about it.

In conclusion, when the selection panel pick their squad to tour a country they have to have every faith in the players they pick. I recall Lonwabo Tsotsobe celebrating with the rest of the team when Hashim Amla scored the winning runs to secure the Proteas a Test series victory over Australia at home in 2008/09. For that time (and maybe longer) till the Proteas’ tour of England earlier this year, Tsotsobe has only played five Test matches and has toured with the South African Test Squad in all their tours if not most. In this time span, he has witness other seam bowlers such as Marchant de Lange and Vernon Philander surpass him in the starting 11 –despite him being in the squad for longer and selectors labelling him as “plans after Makhaya Ntini”. The same thing seems to be happening to wicket-keeper Thami Tsolekile. From what it looks like on the side-line, it’s very doubtful that Tsolekile will be given a run any time soon. We just shouldn’t be, or even act surprised when we see him being dropped without a valid reason.

-Mandilulame Manjezi
@JizzyJakesTheIn