Kagiso Rabada must be managed better if the Proteas aim to benefit from his World Class ability for years to come, writes Alasdair Fraser.
Neil Manthorp’s recent column in the Business Day shed some light on what will go down as one of the Protea’s most disastrous World Cup campaigns since they made a first appearance at the event back in 1992.
“Four of the best were still playing at an intense level until two weeks before the tournament. Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock and Imran Tahir were in the IPL and Rabada was one withdrawn from the playoffs a few days earlier when his back was at risk of giving up long-term.
“All four had been promised an early exit by Cricket SA but its agreement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for their withdrawal was ‘forgotten’. Each player’s prolonged involvement until the end was worth in the region of $200,000 to Cricket SA.
“The big three flew straight fro, Chennai to Cape Two and attended a team function the evening. The following morning they were up at 6 am for a team-building walk up Table Mountain. The issue is not the pre-World Cup camp, which was planned sometime before; it was their prolonged stay at the IPL which left these key players without any break in-between.”
Neil Manthorp, LEFT ARM OVER, The Business Day.
Their preparation was far from ideal but when you consider “Manners’” revelation that CSA scored financially from several key Proteas players’ involvement in the IPL, the disaster in England and Wales seems to fit the crime.
Well, not really a crime. If CSA get remunerated for the services of their property – fair dues. But if it was to the detriment of the national team, then the stakeholders (the fans) deserve to be enlightened.
Instead of blaming the coaching staff, the players etc, perhaps the preparation and planning behind the event deserves some much-needed scrutiny. Fail to prepare. Prepare to fail.
My first impression of the Proteas during the beginning stages of the World Cup was one of listless and tired individuals not looking as sharp in the field and making decisions with the bat that were questionable to say the least. Throw in a clueless run out here and there and you have the makings of a B-grade disaster movie.
It’s a crying shame, because the likes of Kagiso Rabada just didn’t pitch up. The young tearaway fast bowler looked razor sharp in the IPL, yet why was our star with the ball allowed to burn out in the IPL? – a competition littered with money and one of little national importance.
What compounds my frustration is that Rabada has been bowled into the ground since crowning his international debut with an ODI hat-trick in 2015.
One of my favourite writers, Tom Eaton, alluded to this in a recent tweet where he pointed out how many international balls Rabada had bowled and compared that to other greats at his current age.
The stats are alarming. Rabada will burn out sooner than you think.
The much-touted Test opening pair of Rabada and Lungi Ngidi might not materialise unless we manage our national treasure properly.
It would be a crying shame because South African cricket – and Test cricket in general – will be poorer for it.
Photo: Cricket World Cup/Twitter
