Jacques Kallis played his 328th and final One-Day International two years ago, and the hole he left is still one the South African team is trying to fill.
For the current series in the West Indies, they’ve turned to two all-rounders Chris Morris and Wayne Parnell to try and fill that breach.
It’s a ploy that merits continuation. After all, every other strategy has failed.
Before last year’s World Cup, AB de Villiers even turned his arm over in an attempt to give himself as captain greater options with the ball, while maintaining a reasonably lengthy batting order.
It was a noble effort but one which ultimately failed to bear fruit in that helter-skelter semi-final in Auckland. The balance of the South African One-Day side has been troublesome ever since Kallis retired.
Last summer, some thunderous lower order innings’ from Morris provided him and the selectors with wiggle room to keep him in the side.
Morris suffered a hamstring injury at the start of the triangular series in the Caribbean that saw Parnell brought into the side and his excellent performance in the defeat of Australia in Guyana meant it was difficult to drop him – both he and Morris played in what turned into South Africa’s best performance of the tournament, the 137-run win against the West Indies in St Kitts.
Have South Africa finally found a way to fill the void left by Kallis two years ago?
That it takes two players further underlines the value he provided, but the team and its supporters should be far enough removed from his era now that it doesn’t matter what it takes to provide the team with better balance, as long as it leads to victory.
It’s certainly a flexible line-up with both bat and ball. Morris was shifted up the order to No 3 last Wednesday and smashed a quick-fire 40.
Add the bowling capabilities of JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien and De Villiers – he played his 200th ODI last night in South Africa’s match against Australia – certainly has sufficient variety to supplement the frontline bowlers.
The most crucial aspect for both Morris and Parnell at this point in their careers is consistency.
Morris has had a good run with the bat at international level, but remains erratic with the ball. It’s an element he admits he’s been working on and which required some tweaks to his action.
“I really just needed to make a mental shift and having talked a lot to Zaheer Khan (while playing for the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL), I realised that and made some minor changes to my action,” Morris said at the weekend.
Parnell is well aware about the need to be consistent too.
He is capable of infuriating as he is of producing something brilliant in equal parts, but he can’t afford to deviate so violently between two extremes if he wants to have a sustained run in the team.
There certainly appears to be room for both players in the current set up as South Africa seek to forge a new side that will have a tilt at another ICC tournament, when the Champions Trophy rolls around in a year.
In the short term there’s a triangular series to be won in the West Indies, and Morris and Parnell will both be crucial components of the side trying to bring success in the Caribbean. - The Mercury