The high-scoring 4-Day Franchise Series is highlighting the lack of experienced strike bowlers in South Africa and it’s having an effect on our national team, writes Alasdair Fraser.

There is a dearth of ‘experienced’ quality fast bowlers currently plying their trade in the domestic Four-Day series. 

Kolpak contracts have ensured that the next generation of South African strike bowlers aren’t getting the right education they need to become the next Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Allan Donald.

What has made this point so clear to me was when Cricket Fanatics Magazine Editor, Khalid Mohidin, was tweeting about how India’s Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami were extracting extreme bounce from what was considered a dead track.

Can someone please explain to me how India has gotten so much turn and bounce on this strip. The Proteas never received the same assistance from the pitch. The strip could not possibly have deteriorated this much overnight. #INDvSA

— Khalid (@KhalidMohidin) October 21, 2019

I saw the cracks after Dean Elgar took a blow to the head. Yes, a lot of the balls kept low too but India’s pacemen boxed smart and some of the bounce they got reminded me of the Wanderers.

The main thread of conversation in the buildup to the series against India was how our batsmen would fare against the ominous threat of spin on the sub-continent. Well, we’ve been equally poor against India’s pace attack.

During India’s innings, our pace attack looked ordinary at times. Are India’s pacemen really that good or is their intimate knowledge of local conditions and where to pitch the ball making them more lethal? 

I think both. It was chalk and cheese compared to the Proteas’ bowling, though, and worrying that our bowlers aren’t being coached properly to assess conditions and capitalise accordingly.  

This is not a critique of our current crop of Proteas fast bowlers. But you might have noticed that Kagiso Rabada has been over bowled for some time now and he needs a break.

With MSL coming up, Rabada needs to be managed properly. Here’s the thing, though, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Rabada should play a couple of domestic Four-Day games.

My point? Well, if you look at the current rounds of the 4-Day Franchise Series, you may have noticed some big tons from several players at the various franchises. It may look all glossy on the outside yet if you look closer you’ll see several cracks beginning to show and it’s stunting the growth of our up-and-coming batsmen.

The standard of bowling is not what it seems. Yes, there are a few standouts in Gerald Coetzee, Lutho Sipamla and recently Corbin Bosch but it’s not anything to get excited about. Remember, a lot of these players are still making their way in their careers and often carrying their team on their own but we have a dearth of experienced strike bowlers at domestic Four-Day level.

Having the likes of Kyle Abbott, Duanne Olivier, Rabada, Ngidi and Nortje playing in our domestic pool would raise the standard of cricket and blood the next generation of Dale Steyns, Allan Donalds and Makhaya Ntinis.

WATCH: FAF DU PLESSIS: KOLPAK IS SHRINKING SOUTH AFRICA’S TALENT POOL

We are seeing a similar pattern in our domestic rugby competitions with players moving overseas, which is slowly killing the goose that lays the golden egg. 

The sad thing is that the Four-Day series is where the real cricket is played and is the official production line for future Test cricket stars in the batting and bowling department.

All is not what it seems and CSA needs to stop treating it like a red-headed stepchild.

Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix