Proteas in a spin

For the first time in years Proteas fans are agonising about the perceived lack of balance and quality in the One Day line-up. And with the World Cup just around the corner (February 19), there’s precious little time to get things right.

Trailing India 2-1 in the current series at home, the Proteas have looked unsettled, rather than the organised, well drilled unit you would expect to see on the park just weeks before the game’s most important tournament.
The team faces a stiff challenge on the sub continent, where a number of the squad will be tested for the first time in those conditions. The stereotypical low and slow wickets there could cause serious problems for some of the less experienced players in sub continent conditions.

The return of Jacques Kallis to South Africa’s batting line-up will make a huge difference, Kallis being the batsman most likely to bat through an innings. The low scores posted by the Proteas in the current series show just how much he’s been missed. While it’s a pity Dolphins player David Miller misses out, Faf du Plessis’s debut performance in which he scored 60 runs was a welcome boost. And it’s also a good move to include Morne van Wyk, a solid wicketkeeper and underrated opening bat who scores at a very fast rate.

To be fair to the Proteas, it’s only a matter of time before players like Amla and De Villiers “get a big one”, and as they say in the game, “They’re due a score”. When these players plus Duminy get going, and with Kallis back in the fold, the line-up suddenly looks much stronger (minus the missing bulldog Mark Boucher).

One thing that will continue to haunt the Proteas is their (lack of) ability to negate the efforts of world class spin bowling. In this current ODI series they have appeared uncomfortable trying to deal with the quality and guile of spin master Harbajhan Singh. Every time Singh has been tossed the ball he’s almost licked his lips in anticipation. There’s other match winning spinners coming out to play in this World Cup. Watch this space.

While the bowling department seems to be more solid, with the pace trio of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe firing well at this point, there could be trouble on the horizon. How will Tsotsobe adapt to the different conditions at the World Cup? Will the pace of Morkel and Steyn be negated if there’s little swing on offer and the pitches are slow? Unfortunately Wayne Parnell has not been at his best of late.

In a spin?

And the spinning department? In Imran Tahir the Proteas have a potential match winner, but he’s never been tested at full international level and against countries whose players traditionally handle spin very well. There’s two matches to play before the World Cup and Tahir is yet to get a game. Johan Botha has performed very well at international level, and can be relied on for guile and accuracy, but as Pathan showed the other night, he can also travel when the big hitters are in and on song. Also, what role will Robin Petersen perform, given that JP Duminy will probably also get a bowl.

So many questions and so little faith, you might say. But that’s the nature of this great sport. The fans are passionate and care about the fate of their team, and thus newspaper columns, radio chat shows and blogs are fully of their anxious rantings.

The games get under way in less than a month. Prepare to make yourself very comfortable in front of the telly: Graeme Smith’s South Africans kick off their campaign against the West Indies on February 24 in New Delhi.