South Africa team selection

[StephenZA]

I think a crucial addition to this team has been Maharaj. Balances our attack + lengthens our batting. He can bowl long spells to allow us to play 4 bowlers only in some situations.

Things that have kept SA competitive during this tough time... 1) Rabada, 2) Faf as captain, 3) Elgar stepping up and 4) Maharaj....

I am not a fan of keeping Parnell around, he is going to become the Duminy of the team all over again. Morris will also hopefully be fit. But I think that Philanders batting recently is good enough to bat 7. I would like us to get youngsters in on the bowling i.e. Du Pavillon and Ngidi. I am happy that Olivier performed much better, but watching him at test level makes me think he is an excellent FC bowler...

I am not sure what is going to happen with our allrounder positions, Mulder is an obvious answer but i (sadly) worry abut the balance of the team with quotas involved in the futrue.. I think Ngidi stepping up is going to be very important.

 

[Dendarii]

With that in mind it's probably good that the likes of Olivier, Phehlukwayo, Parnell are getting more exposure to Test cricket at this moment in time.

The first two yes, but Parnell could do with no further exposure to test cricket.

 

[SeamUp]

Yes absolutely, there are clearly many factors outside of the more obvious ones I mentioned that will dictate the ideal structure of the side but I think the signs are certainly very good for SA, though it may only be a brief period of time that they are clearly the strongest side in the world before the likes of De Villiers, Steyn, Morkel, etc call it a day or are simply shadows of their former selves.

With that in mind it's probably good that the likes of Olivier, Phehlukwayo, Parnell are getting more exposure to Test cricket at this moment in time.

It is certainly going to be interesting and I know what you mean. We would have to re-set before India, England and Australia but if we can get quality out of performance from those seniors like you say it could be a great 2 years.

Generational changes in cricket teams are one of the under-appreciated little bits of our game. Love it.

 

[SeamUp]

Things that have kept SA competitive during this tough time... 1) Rabada, 2) Faf as captain, 3) Elgar stepping up and 4) Maharaj....

I am not a fan of keeping Parnell around, he is going to become the Duminy of the team all over again. Morris will also hopefully be fit. But I think that Philanders batting recently is good enough to bat 7. I would like us to get youngsters in on the bowling i.e. Du Pavillon and Ngidi. I am happy that Olivier performed much better, but watching him at test level makes me think he is an excellent FC bowler...

I am not sure what is going to happen with our allrounder positions, Mulder is an obvious answer but i (sadly) worry abut the balance of the team with quotas involved in the futrue.. I think Ngidi stepping up is going to be very important.

Well put.

I agree on Ngidi. He is vital for us moving forward after the seniors retire and for balancing issues. CSA need to look after him and get a pool of quicks together for succession planning. I do fear that he has a history of back issues.

Temba may well just be a good FC player but he really needs 100s. We had a player called Ashwell Prince who was good when the chips were down but averaged 40+

 

[Heboric]

Firdose was saying Parnell had a decent game ...

 

[StephenZA]

Well put.

I agree on Ngidi. He is vital for us moving forward after the seniors retire and for balancing issues. CSA need to look after him and get a pool of quicks together for succession planning. I do fear that he has a history of back issues.

Temba may well just be a good FC player but he really needs 100s. We had a player called Ashwell Prince who was good when the chips were down but averaged 40+

Yeah, Bavuma is starting to become a worry. He has done well often enough, and his technique ooks good enough to get to an avg of 40+.... but he is just not putting the performances together.

Firdose was saying Parnell had a decent game ...

I think he bowled 1 less half-volley or long-hop an over... so only about 3 balls an over were boundary balls. That is an improvement of sorts...

 

[Woodster]

The first two yes, but Parnell could do with no further exposure to test cricket.

Was actually surprised how little Test cricket he has played, not that I'm suggesting he should've played a lot more, just thought he had notched up more than six Test caps.

 

[SeamUp]

Wonder how the Morkel camp view this ?

No World Cup assurances for Morne Morkel - ESPNcricinfo

 

[Dendarii]

Wonder how the Morkel camp view this ?

No World Cup assurances for Morne Morkel - ESPNcricinfo

This doesn't strike me as much of a story at all. Gibson has only just taken charge, and his immediate focus has been on the Bangladesh tests. So it's entirely understandable that he hasn't yet had any discussions with too many players (if any) about their potential role in the next World Cup, especially not players who aren't part of the team camp, which that article claims Morkel hasn't been since picking up his injury..

 

[SeamUp]

This doesn't strike me as much of a story at all. Gibson has only just taken charge, and his immediate focus has been on the Bangladesh tests. So it's entirely understandable that he hasn't yet had any discussions with too many players (if any) about their potential role in the next World Cup, especially not players who aren't part of the team camp, which that article claims Morkel hasn't been since picking up his injury..

I think Gibson's response was good.

Morkel must just enjoy his cricket but I just have a nagging suspicion the Kolpak offers from multiple counties are very very competitive.

Retire at the end of the summer ?

 

[StephenZA]

I think Gibson's response was good.

Morkel must just enjoy his cricket but I just have a nagging suspicion the Kolpak offers from multiple counties are very very competitive.

Retire at the end of the summer ?

Faf will also have a say in this decision. I think as long as Morkel continues to perform he has a real shot to make the team and he has, at times, been one of our best ODI bowlers. The kolpak offers are about extending careers. From what I have heard its not a great deal more money than what CSA offers the top players.

But no player 2 years out can expect to be give any guarantees regarding a WC.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

I don't understand all the Chris Morris hype. Parnell gets a lot of criticism for being inconsistent and prone to leaking runs, often for good reason, but as far as I have seen Morris has exactly the same problem. A quick look at the ODI's they have both played this year seem to suggest Parnell has done a slightly better job out of the two. As a relative outsider this somewhat confuses me.

 

[Prince EWS]

Morris is inconsistent and prone to leaking runs, but he has much more going for him on the good days (more bounce, more movement), and I think they're a bit more common with him as well. Moreover he's really developed his limited overs batting to the point of being (at least theoretically) really useful coming in at 7 or 8. Parnell can bat too but he has that awkward combination of being boundary-reliant without being that comfortable going over the top, which makes him kind of unsuited to that sort of role. When he was having success with the bat in OD domestic games he was actually opening.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Probably true, but I still don't see either being good enough for a permanent Test spot. Phehlukwayo isn't quite there either yet, but with age on his side he as the potential to be the long term solution in a couple of years. Mulder is also worth keeping an eye on for the future.

 

[Prince EWS]

Probably true, but I still don't see either being good enough for a permanent Test spot. Phehlukwayo isn't quite there either yet, but with age on his side he as the potential to be the long term solution in a couple of years. Mulder is also worth keeping an eye on for the future.

Yeah I don't think Morris is good enough to be a regular Test player either - not consistent enough to be a good specialist bowler and not really quite good enough as a FC batsman to be picked as an allrounder. He'd be a good squad player so I'd take him on tour as a backup without issue, but I'd be worried if he was in my best eleven (which I think at this stage would just include Philander at #7 for SA, and not any of the guys you mentioned).

I definitely think he's the best bet for the #7 spot in ODis though, mainly because of the work he's put in on his batting to make himself really useful in that role, and given you brought up ODIs I figured it was the main focus.

 

[GoodAreasShane]

Yeah, as it stands I would pick Morris in the Proteas ODI side when fully fit, but he needs more consistency if he wants to completely secure his place there.

And I am merely suggesting Andile or Mulder could be better options in the future, but not yet at this stage.

 

[GRAB]

Parnell has more going for him as bowler for me - much quicker, potential to swing the ball at pace, and being a left-armer which helps balance immeasurably. Parnell as a ODI batsman is enigmatic - really more of a stroke player / accumulator than a late over basher... A certain percentage of the South African populace will perceive Pretorius as better simply by virtue of having less melanin (why do you think they had to add quotas to allow for merit selection in the first place?)

 

[StephenZA]

SA have had an allrounder probem since Kallis retired, long gone are the times of Kluseners, Pollocks etc... It was a hope that Duminy would bat/bowl well enough to take up the slack and with QDK coming along as wk would help balance the team.

Parnell has lost his ability to swing the ball, which was his original angerous weapon. He has since been given lots of opportunity to get into the team, but has just continually disappointed. Morris is the latest in the line of potential try`s of an allrounder. He improved both his batting and bowling in the last 2/3 seasons and was given the opportunity and while he has been inconsistent has also done enough to keep his spot. He is not my favourite cricketer. Pretorius has also been considered, if briefly. However SA have still not really filled that allrounder role as none of them are truly international class.

Mulder, Andile and J.Smith are the current future hope... Andile has been given the most opportunity recently for obvious reasons.

 

[Dendarii]

Parnell has more going for him as bowler for me - much quicker, potential to swing the ball at pace, and being a left-armer which helps balance immeasurably.

I don't find the argument about balance to be a particularly strong one. Yes, a left-armer does add variety, but it's not as though South African attacks have struggled without one.

Parnell does have a lot of things going for him, but that hasn't translated to performances at international level, which is disappointing especially after he showed so much promise when he first came onto the scene. Morris may not have done substantially better than Parnell, but I do feel more comfortable with him in the side and he does seem more likely to produce that moment/passage of brilliance with bat or ball, although he doesn't produce them often enough to be a realistic long-term test option.

And Parnell's questionable hairstyles haven't helped his case. Of course players shouldn't be judged on how they choose to look, but if they're not performing on the field it can lead to the impression that they're focusing more on their appearance than on their cricket.

As for Pretorius, he's more like Phehlukwayo as a bowler than Parnell and Morris. So there's not always going to be room for both of them in the same side, and at the moment Phehlukwayo is the one in favour.

 

[SeamUp]

Paterson & B.Hendricks not stepping up as obvious international standard doesn't surprise me. Like de Lange & Viljoen.

Pato could do with a chance or 2 more tbf to him otherwise keep for T20. Interesting to see whether they go Parnell next.