With the T20 World Cup fast approaching, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss where I believe the Proteas have fallen short in recent times, having suffered back-to-back home series losses to Australia and England.
The Proteas have severely lacked consistency in terms of their T20 selection, and although I believe that they have made great strides in filling certain positions within the side, one position remains more vulnerable than ever.
That position, as I’ve mentioned on so many occasions, is the batting all-rounder position.
Why does this only seem to be an issue now?
Over the last decade or so, South Africa have been blessed (without many of us realizing it) with the batting all-round services of JP Duminy who averaged a staggering 39 in T20 cricket at a rate of 126 per 100 balls; stats worthy of any specialist batsmen around the country or even the world at the time.
In addition to the very robust batting portion of the elegant left-hand batsman was a very capable and highly intelligent off-break bowler who cost around 7.7 runs per over which, in my opinion, is below par for even a specialist bowler in this format of the game.
Why would you need a 6th bowler?
Given the nature of modern cricket and T20 cricket, in particular, this shouldn’t be too tough a question to answer. I would argue that it is inevitable that one bowler is likely to get some ‘tap’ in any T20 game.
To support this idea, let’s look at the worst economy rates by a South African bowler in each game of their last 4 T20 series:
| Game | Australia | England | India | Sri Lanka |
| 1 | 15.00 | 22.00 | RAINED OUT | 10.50 |
| 2 | 10.25 | 15.00 | 9.00 | 18.00 |
| 3 | 11.50 | 14.00 | 9.75 | 13.20 |
It becomes quite clear that regardless of the outcomes of these games (The Proteas won 6 of the 11), one of the South African bowlers has been on the receiving end of some seriously destructive batting and as a purist of the game (or at least I’d like to consider myself one) I don’t think that the bowler is always to blame.
The margin for error that bowlers are subjected to in this form of the game is laughable at times and I tend to have a soft spot for anyone willing to subject themselves to that kind of carnage.
Having said, cricket is a game of numbers and a bowler who, for whatever reason, has found himself to be leaking runs at a rate that is not sustainable for a captain, should be taken off immediately and replaced by the ‘extra bowler’.
I use the term ‘extra bowler’ intentionally, as opposed to ‘another bowler’. There is no space for 6 out-and-out bowlers in T20 cricket, and to be honest, there probably isn’t space for 5 (but I digress).
The criteria for that 6th bowler, in my opinion, should be that he makes the team based on his batting alone and his ability with the ball is simply a luxury or a bonus to the South African side.
Jacques Kallis played that role in the South African Test side and his ability with the ball allowed South Africa to pick an extra batsman.
JP Duminy, who is one of the best T20 batsmen the Proteas ever had, played that role perfectly in the ODI and T20 side and it is this position that South Africa have not been able to fill since his retirement.
It is clear that South Africa have tried desperately to replace him with the likes of Chris Morris, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, and lately Jon Jon Smuts, but they, unfortunately, have one thing in common…none of them would make the South African side purely on their batting.
Looking at the Proteas’ last 4 T20 series, a total of 11 games were played. The Proteas used 6 bowlers in 8 of those 11 games.
Of the 3 games where 5 bowlers were used (and the extra batsman was chosen), the Proteas won two and lost one.
So what do I suggest?
I believe that the Proteas, as a T20 outfit, have declined significantly over the last year or so (Specifically in the post Duminy era) and I believe that a clear game plan is needed.
I believe there to be 3 options available to the Proteas at this point in time:
Pick a bowling all-rounder to bat at 6:
This is the least appealing option in my opinion, especially given the average batting performance against decent opposition when this ‘strategy’ is applied. Don’t get me wrong, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, and Dwaine Pretorius are fantastic cricketers, but they are not batting all-rounders and have no place in the Proteas top 6.
Pick 5 bowlers and hope that the benefit of having the extra batsman outweighs the risk of one of the 5 bowlers getting some ‘tap’ and not having a suitable replacement:
To be honest, as it stands, this is the option that I’m starting to lean towards. A ‘par’ score in T20 cricket seems to be getting higher and higher each year and I don’t think that we will be a successful T20 outfit until we are able to post totals in and around that 180 on a consistent basis.
A top 6 which is capable of doing that the World Cup would be:
- Quinton de Kock
- Temba Bavuma
- Faf du Plessis
- AB de Villiers
- Heinrich Klaasen
- David Miller
Stick with Smuts as the batting all-rounder:
Firstly, I think Smuts is a great cricketer. He’s been the rock of the Warriors side for a number of years and rightfully earned his call up to the national side.
I do think that he has the ability to score runs at an international level but (without much evidence to support this idea) I think he is someone that likes to take his time initially to settle down, get a sense of the conditions and really look to build an innings.
This type of player doesn’t suit the modern T20 format where you’re expected to hit the ball running from the get-go. His place in the ODI side is a different discussion altogether but if it were up to me, he would not have a seat on the plane to Australia later this year.
Final thoughts:
I believe that South Africa have 5 T20 games against the West Indies pencilled in before the World Cup, with 3 potential games against Sri Lanka as well as Pakistan also in the pipeline.
What I’d like to see Mark Boucher and the supporting staff do is to make a definite decision on the ‘structure’ they would like to adopt when they head to Australia, and to then apply that structure for EVERY game leading into the World Cup.
Photo: Frikkie Kapp/BackpagePix
