At every national squad announcement before a major tournament, there is someone who misses out.
The Proteas can’t take more than 15 players, Shakes Mashaba can only have so many committed players in Equatorial Guinea and, in September, Heyneke Meyer will have the unenviable task of disgruntling a few burly manne.
On Wednesday, when the Proteas’ convener of selectors unveiled the chosen ones to go to Australasia for the World Cup next month, the man known as “Hudders” would have invoked a weary sigh from those who missed out, not least Ryan McLaren.
Nice guy is “Mac”. All-round nice guy. Speaks several languages, as honest as a day in the field is long. Indeed, he is the personification of the Protea Fire that has burnt our screens and social media pages in recent months.
There is no “I” in anything the “Scotsman from Bloemfontein” does.
Always, the team comes first.
But, let it be noted that “Mac”, a loyal servant to the national team since returning from the safety of a county cricket deal in 2010, paid a stiff price for his slow return to form after his injury in the winter.
Subsequently, he became the fall guy, the one standing outside the bus. It’s rough, brutally so, for a player to pay for a few average months after years of stout service.
David Miller has been there, in that horrible place full of “chin-up” and “you’ll bounce back”, after missing out in 2011.
Miller was one of the first to call McLaren, who was his original roomie when he started out in the national squad.
Better than anyone, perhaps, he knew what his roomie was going through, as his buddies on many a tour were being toasted while he sat in weary contemplation.
The only difference between Miller and McLaren is that Miller knew he had time on his side four years ago, as did the selectors.
McLaren, on the other hand, is 32 next month. The next ICC showpiece, in 2019, is forever away, and he looks almost certain to end his international career having never gone to a World Cup.
In 2011, he missed out to the likes of Albie Morkel, and now he has been overlooked for Wayne Parnell and Farhaan Behardien, both of whom still have the jury out on their international credentials.
In the relentless buffet of pyjama cricket we watch, it is very easy to forget that it was barely 18 months ago that McLaren was on bended knee, scooping the Proteas to a last-ball victory over Pakistan.
Again and again, this crazy game reminds us that timing is everything.
The irony, of course, is that McLaren, after several matches under his belt, had found his timing and touch at the crease.
In fact, his back-to-back centuries for the Dolphins in recent Sunfoil Series matches reminded those who wondered why he had been touted as South Africa’s all-rounder of choice once the incomparable King Kallis had vacated his throne.
That sentiment has been confined to history, too, it seems, along with his broken arm and now the shattered dream of ever strutting his stuff on the highest stage.
It’s just the brutal nature of these things.
A week ago, Shakes Mashaba was dousing flames from those who couldn’t comprehend how Thulani Serero, the darling of Ajax Amsterdam, had been overlooked for the Africa Cup of Nations.
In September, someone in Blue Bulls country will curse Heyneke Meyer for not taking one of their own to the World Cup, as will others in the shadow of the Shark Tank, and perhaps even more from the foot of Table Mountain.
And, more often than not, it’s the nice guy who usually comes off second-best, because he will make the least noise.
Just ask “Mac” …