England’s tour of South Africa will see a team settled with a perfected philosophy (England) take on a team testing their tweaked version of what their opponents have proven to be a winning formula (Proteas), writes Khalid Mohidin.
Setting the Stage
By the time you have finished reading my confusing intro, and have come to this paragraph, I can assure you that I have mustered up my thoughts clearly to present it to you in this short preview.
I have come to the conclusions that I have, after watching Mark Boucher and Rassie van der Dussen’s press conferences, which touched on the “brand of cricket” the Proteas aim to play.
Let’s rewind to England’s previous series in South Africa. Before comfortably beating South Africa in the T20 series, Eoin Morgan in his pre-series presser gave the ideal “style” which they would like to play and how star players – like Ben Stokes and Jos Butler – fit into that mould.
“They play their own way,” said Morgan.
“Within the framework of our game plan – which is playing positive, aggressive, smart cricket – I think it leaves a lot of creative imagination and individuality for guys to play their own way and make their own decisions. Until that changes and doesn’t suit us, we’re sticking to that.”
Playing “positive, aggressive, smart cricket” was the key words that stood out to me, particularly the word “smart”.
When it comes to modelling a team in World Cricket, we don’t need to look further than the 2019 World Cup champions.
Based on what Mark Boucher said in his pre-series presser a couple of days before the first game kicks off on Friday 27 November, the Proteas seem to be doing exactly that.
“We want to be nice and aggressive, that’s the way the game is going, the direction in which it’s going,” said Boucher.
“I think smartness is something which we have spoken about… you don’t want to go out there and be mavericks, you want to be nice and smart.”
You with me now?
The Proteas are a team in transition and seem to be aligned when it comes to the style or brand of play. If we digest that as the complete truth, we should be in for a mouth-watering clash of a team looking to fully test their “new” philosophy against a team who have mastered that exact philosophy.
It will now be a case of analysing which team’s XI, executes the plan more effectively. Or more so, whether the Proteas can execute this plan.
WATCH: QUINTON DE KOCK PRESS CONFERENCE
In the Spotlight:
There are plenty of players in the spotlight in this match. We have Quinton de Kock vs Jos Buttler, Adil Rashid vs Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada vs Jofra Archer, but for me, who will anchor the middle order will be the biggest learning factor, particularly for South Africa.
I think it’s clear to say that England pretty much knows their best XI. Where South Africa, will be testing a XI they believe can play that “Aggressive, Smart” brand they’re aiming to play.
The middle-order for South Africa, namely the No 5 and 6 positions, is completely up for grabs. With Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Jon-Jon Smuts, Pite van Biljon, George Linde and Kyle Verreynne all battling it out for spots in the XI.
For me those are the players, it will be a big series. Hopefully, we will know who Boucher and the brains trust favour by the end of it all.
ALSO READ: PROTEAS IN THE SPOTLIGHT | SOUTH AFRICA VS ENGLAND
How will they lineup?
In my opinion, the team selections will be centred around two important factors – will teams be picking XI’s as if they were living out a T20 clash in the World Cup (which will be played in India), or is this about picking players according to the conditions so that they can give themselves the best opportunity to win one match at a time.
These decisions will determine whether we will see two spinners, or one.
Based on what I saw in the Cobras’ clash against the Titans at Newlands in the 4-Day Series, a spinner friendly wicket was prepared. Whether the same strip will be presented for this clash or not is unknown, so I’m going to go with sides that I believe can be selected in a World T20 in India.
My Proteas XI:
1. Quinton de Kock
2. Temba Bavuma
3. Faf du Plessis
4. Rassie van der Dussen
5. David Miller/Heinrich Klaasen
6. George Linde/Jon-Jon Smuts
7. Andile Phehlukwayo
8. Kagiso Rabada
9. Anrich Nortje
10. Lungi Ngidi
11. Tabraiz Shamsi
My England XI:
1. Jason Roy
2. Jos Buttler
3. Dawid Malan/ Jonny Bairstow
4. Eoin Morgan
5. Ben Stokes
6. Moeen Ali
7. Sam Curran
8. Chris Jordan
9. Mark Wood
10. Jofra Archer
11. Adil Rashid
ALSO READ: Who are you excited to see? | Lucy’s South Africa vs England preview
Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
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