A guy like Kallis

[Xuhaib]

Should he be a part of a 20/20 side.His record is ok and can make up quite often by hitting big shots later on see Sa vs India however he bats so poorly in the first 6 overs that he puts a lot of pressure on the other batsman.

Does a batsman like him have a place in this format?

[Uppercut]

He's certainly capable of playing a positive and useful innings. But I don't think he has a place in the side playing as negatively as he often does.

[Athlai]

I think he is unfairly bashed, he hardly ever bats negatively and tends to keep his SR over 100. As long as you don't have two of those type of players at the crease it should be fine. So I guess it depends on the guy at the other end as well, a Kallis and a real aggressor would be an ideal combination.

A guy like Tendulkar though can play the Kallis-type role as well as being an aggressor. It's a shame he isn't in the IPL.

[Stapel]

He would simply be my first pick in any T20 team. Maybe not the highest SR, but his SR is still above a run-a-ball and he averages 40 or so. This makes him a great guarantee for a good start of the Innings. Maybe other players are just a bit better than Kallis, but non of them come even close with the ball.

BTW, Kallis is still in the top list of players who 've hit the most sixes at the WC T20.

[pasag]

He's so confusing.

It took some of the older guys a while to figure out the format. Jayawardene, Dravid etc but they got the hang of it and they went from strength to strength. Kallis gets the hang of it and then it's almost as if he goes "yep I can do it and have proved I can" and then goes back to playing his natural game (which costs sides matches).

[pasag]

Unless you're playing for Afganistan a run a ball 40 isn't good and puts a lot of pressure on the lower order to get the team off to a reasonable total with not many balls to spare. Certainly not good enough for a top tier side like South Africa.

[Uppercut]

Originally Posted by Athlai

I think he is unfairly bashed, he hardly ever bats negatively and tends to keep his SR over 100. As long as you don't have two of those type of players at the crease it should be fine. So I guess it depends on the guy at the other end as well, a Kallis and a real aggressor would be an ideal combination.

The negativity of his batting is often exaggerated, but he's definitely batting much more slowly than is optimum. Particularly when the powerplay overs end, he gets bogged down a lot around overs 6-12. His starts against India and England were particularly unimpressive given that in both matches they were chasing fairly hefty totals. And I guess that's the main criticism of Kallis- he can bat aggressively, but often when the situation requires him to, he doesn't.

[tooextracool]

There are a couple of things about Kallis. One is that he bats the same way irrespective of the match situation, I can understand that scoring at an SR of 110 or so isnt that bat on average but to do so when the team is chasing 160+ scores hurts the team and hurts all the players that are left chasing impossible situations. Players like Dravid and Jayawardhene may have similar SR, but you can bet your house that when the team needs to get a big score they will throw their bat at the ball and either score runs or get out.

I don't mind Kallis in the side because he provides the extra bowling option and his all round skills make him a valuable player to have. However, I think South Africa need to consider having him not bat at all when they are chasing scores of 160+ because him being at the crease hurts their chances of winning.

[Jono]

It's simple really. Kallis looks amazing when he stays all the way and successfully lifts his strike rate, because it looks like he "played his role perfectly". This was evident in the IPL game where he chased down a mammoth total for Bangalore.

But if he goes fairly slowly at the start, and then gets out after not kicking on properly, it seriously makes his knock look like a match-losing one, especially when Albie walks in needing to score 12 rpo to win.

[Shifter]

He is a strange case as has been said. Hes shown he can lift his tempo, but doesn't always attempt to as early as he should. I put some of it in this world cup down to form. He noticeably dropped off halfway through the IPL. His bowling potential is also a useful asset to consider but he does need to deliver with the bat.

He also wasn't the only SA batsman who struggled. All of them struggled to get it away. Only AB could claim to have had a decent show.

[BoyBrumby]

I don't think Fat Gray and him can be accomodated in the same T20 batting order, tbh. Especially when Gibbs is shot and AB de V not exactly a dasher as the format goes. One player can be the anchor, but two weighs the scoring down.

What happened to Bosman? Injured?

[GingerFurball]

Thought Bosman's non selection was down to him being utterly dreadful myself.

The South African batting line up is a weird one. On paper it looks brilliant, but it's missing something; I wouldn't back any of them (bar maybe de Villiers) to turn a game the way an on form Gayle, White, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Umar Akmal, Dilshan or Pietersen can. They've got no-one in the lineup who you'd back to take the game away from the opposition.

[Shifter]

Its hard to pick on any particular batsman in the SA lineup since they were all so poor this tournament, but Gibbs is the guy who definitely shouldn't of been there. He has looked out of it for quite some time and whats worse is they still played him after his dismal display in the IPL. His fielding is still as sharp as ever but you don't pick someone just for that.

I can't bring myself to care about Bosman even if he can be effective in T20. The fact that he is such a limited batsman irks me.

[Shifter]

Originally Posted by GingerFurball

Thought Bosman's non selection was down to him being utterly dreadful myself.

The South African batting line up is a weird one. On paper it looks brilliant, but it's missing something; I wouldn't back any of them (bar maybe de Villiers) to turn a game the way an on form Gayle, White, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Umar Akmal, Dilshan or Pietersen can. They've got no-one in the lineup who you'd back to take the game away from the opposition.

Don't forget the 1 in 10 chance of coming off (if your lucky) wonder Albie Morkel.

[GingerFurball]

Morkel's a hack.