He’s got all the talent in the world, and now it’s time for Wayne Parnell to make full use of it for the Proteas in the one-day international arena.
Parnell has been the “yo-yo man” of the South African ODI outfit, having played just 51 matches since making his debut in 2009. To put that figure in perspective, the national team were involved in 141 games during that period, so it proves how Parnell has been in and out of the set-up.
But the 27-year-old from Port Elizabeth made a serious bid for a recall when he ended third on the leading wicket-takers’ list in last season’s 1-Day Cup competition, grabbing 16 scalps in nine matches. Only Knights seamer Malusi Siboto (19 wickets in 10 games) and Warriors swing bowler Andrew Birch (17 in nine) finished above Parnell.
That performance earned the Cape Cobras left-arm paceman a place in the Proteas squad for the triangular tournament in the Caribbean in June against the West Indies and Australia.
Parnell didn’t fare too badly with the ball, claiming five wickets in four innings at an average of 32.60, while he didn’t have much opportunity with the bat. His only really substantial innings was the 28 he scored in a losing cause against the West Indies in the last round-robin game.
The top-order collapsed in that match, but Parnell’s 28 off 58 balls would’ve been encouraging for him going forward, as it is with the bat that his main rival for the all-rounder’s spot – Chris Morris – arguably has the edge on him at the moment.
While Parnell’s ODI career statistics are significantly better with bat and ball compared to Morris, the latter has played some match-winning innings in recent times.
Such performances stay in the memory far longer than just doing a reasonable job with the ball, for instance, which led Proteas stand-in captain Faf du Plessis to remark on Saturday that Morris’ enforced absence for Sunday’s game against Ireland and the upcoming Australian series “is a big injury for us”.
But Morris has been sidelined by a lingering knee injury that will keep him out for the next two months. So it is entirely up to Parnell to grab the chance to become the No 1 all-rounder in South Africa, starting with Sunday’s Irish clash in Benoni (10am start).
The former SA Under-19 captain has previously shown that he can be a revelation with bat in hand, scoring two half-centuries as an opener in last year’s RamSlam T20 Challenge, including a 99. He ended with 237 runs in 10 innings and an average of 47.40, with a strike-rate of 133.14.
But facing a hard new ball with the field up and coming in at No 7 in the last five overs are two very different scenarios, and that is where Morris’ ability to clear the boundary has seen him become a key figure for the Proteas.
While taking wickets and keeping things tight will be Parnell’s two main priorities with the ball against Ireland, he will hope to show that he can fulfil the role of a big-hitter in the closing overs. There is no doubt that he is a better bowler than Morris – he bowls a yard quicker and has more variety by sending down cutters and swinging it both ways – but his future in the Proteas ODI team may hinge on what he can do with the bat in the next month.
Of course, there are also two other new contenders for the all-rounder berth in the Lions’ Dwaine Pretorius and Dolphins youngster Andile Phehlukwayo, but Parnell should be first in line, having already played alongside Morris in June.
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Independent Media