Though the door should never be shut on World Cup aspirations, Graeme Smith has warned the national selectors not to get caught up in the hype and excitement and needlessly throw a new player into the mix for that tournament.
The former South African captain, who played in three World Cups, said yesterday it’s never “too late” for a player to grab the selectors’ attention ahead of a major event, but careful consideration needs to be given so as not to undo the work of the last two years.
“As the hype and excitement grows, selectors always tend to play a few games and have their own strong ideas,” said Smith, who captained South Africa at the last two tournaments. “It’s important to know why that person is coming in, what’s his role, not just pick someone on emotion or because someone has had one or two good performances.
“Russell (Domingo), AB (de Villiers) and the selectors have 80 to 90percent of the squad sorted out, there’ll be one or two things that will come into the final 15. What is important is that they look at it from a 15-man perspective. Being a long tournament, it’s essential the whole squad can contribute.” Positions 14 and 15 – most likely a back-up batsman and seam bowler – appear to be where the opportunities may lie to make a late impression.
Smith said the growing optimism about the South African side is entirely justified given recent results – the team’s won 16 of their last 22 matches, a sequence that includes wins against Australia, Sri Lanka and India.
“There is a good buzz around the Proteas. Naturally there’ll be hype, things will get said, but there’s a really good feel around them and seeing how they’ve played recently, turning out good performances consistently is great.”
Adding to that optimism is the venue for next year’s event – Australasia, where conditions should be more suited to South Africa’s strengths. “For the first time in a long time conditions will be something we’re really happy about in Australia and New Zealand.
“Eighty to 90percent of competitions take place in the sub-continent or in conditions similar to that, which suits those teams.”
Naturally, there are concerns; ‘death bowling’ is foremost among those, with the inconsistency of the bowlers at the end of the innings proving an Achilles heel.
“What’s changed ‘death bowling’ is the ability of batsmen to play that lap shot and setting a field with five (fielders) in the ring becomes an issue; you’re asking yourself: ‘How can I block the field without becoming predictable so a guy doesn’t line me up?’” Smith mused. “But in that respect, a guy like Lasith (Malinga) has proven – with three deliveries; his bouncer, his slower ball yorker and his (fast) yorker, that he is the best ‘death bowler’ in the world. It’s always important under pressure to know you can hit the block hole.”
South Africa start their World Cup campaign on February 15 in Hamilton against New Zealand. Before that, the side will tour New Zealand and Australia in October and November for a total of eight One-Day Internationals, before playing the West Indies in a five-match series next January. - The Star