There has been an interesting development in South African cricket, the birth of opportunities for spinning all-rounders, writes KHALID MOHIDIN.
When cricket fans and pundits played the ‘prediction game’ ahead of the World Cup squad announcement in April, there was one similarity that stood out. More so when Cobras coach Ashwell Prince highlighted the importance of a spinning all-rounder in the national side.
When you look at all the top teams in the World – England, India, Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan – all of them have at least one. South Africa however, had none.
To kick off the new season there has been a satisfying amount of recognition thrown towards this profile of player.
Bjorn Fortuin was rewarded for his performances across all formats at the Cricket South Africa Awards and it earned him a call-up to the T20 national side, along with George Linde and Senuran Muthusamy who was added to the Proteas squad for the Test series.
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Now we don’t know if the reason for the sudden increase in the selection of spinners is solely because the Proteas are playing in India, and it doesn’t matter whether that is the case, because they have been given the opportunity to showcase their ability and stress the importance of their role in all sides.
Not only were spinning all-rounders given a shot nationally, but there has been an influx of them in the junior levels too. Bryce Parsons was rewarded for his quality season at the CSA Breakfast Awards after he dominated the U19 scene.
The Mzansi Super League head coaches also showed their appreciation for spinning all-rounders with the likes of Wihan Lubbe, Gregory Mahlokoana and Prenelan Subrayen all picking up contracts.
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The importance of spinning all-rounders in the white-ball format in any conditions can’t be stressed enough.
They possess the ability to apply pressure from one end, rush opposition batsmen, force the fall of wickets and waste away overs.
Depending on where in the order they bat, they can win games with big-hitting or play strokes to keep the runs ticking and support the specialist batsmen on the other end in times of need.
If the player is a batsman first, his value increases because it allows the selectors to pick a shorter tail.
Filling a spot in a side with as many players who can be used for more than one discipline is invaluable to any coach.
With more and more spinners coming through the system who have mastered both disciplines, future selections are about to become a little tastier and will provide sides with a little more entertainment value to please South African cricket fans.
