My Proteas’ team for the second test against Australia

This is the side I’d pick for the second test against Australia starting in Port Elizabeth tomorrow.

1. Graeme Smith
2. Alviro Peterson
3. Hashim Amla
4. AB De Villiers
5. Faf du Plessis
6. Dean Elgar
7. JP Duminy
8. Wayne Parnell
9. Vernon Philander
10. Dale Steyn
11. Morne Morkel

The Port Elizabeth pitch looks like it’ll favour the pace bowlers, so I’m happy to have JP handle a few overs of spin if required.

Parnell adds some variation being left arm and is apparently bowling at good pace at the moment. Robin Peterson should pack his test whites away.

Last chance saloon for Alviro Peterson at the top of the order. Other option may have been to have Elgar at the top of the order but I’m not keen on two left handers opening against Mitch and his mo’.

I don’t think it’s necessary to play Tsolekile in order to free AB from the gloves. They don’t seem to be holding him back and he’s the kind of player who benefits from being involved in the game.

Robin Peterson should not be playing test cricket

So the Proteas have selected their T20 squad for the Aussies and then for the T20 World Cup.

I have very little interest in T20, but felt compelled to comment on this for one simple reason. I am not a big fan of Robin Peterson as part of the current Proteas test cricket set up and believe he should not be in the team. That being said – I find it very odd that he is not included in this squad, for a version of cricket where his ‘skill set’ can actually be valuable.

Have the selectors got it really wrong here? Peterson is a decent limited overs option for South Africa. I can only hope that they’re not planning on persisting with him in the test side – inexplicably seeing that as his strongest suit.

Proteas squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Beuran Hendricks, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

The Mitchell Johnson aura

Mitchell Johnson is the bowler of the moment in world cricket right now. Does it make him one of the greats? No of course not. Not yet. 

He’s been inconsistent in the past and needs a season or two of these type of performances to really etch his name into the history of Australian cricket. 

But one thing is for sure – there’s nobody as intimidating as Johnson right now.

Watching the last rites of a hapless Proteas performance in the first test at Centurion Park today, one thing really stood out. The Aussies are by no means a one man show. But seeing the swagger of an rather average bowler like Peter Siddle – brought on by the confidence that Johnson’s performances have given this team – further underscores his value. 

What is does also show, is that when the day comes that Johnson is not on his game, the Aussies will need to dig deep and prove that they’re an attack that benefit each other, not simply benefit from Mitch and his mo’.

Graeme Smith and the Proteas will be praying that day comes soon. At the moment it looks as though they have no answer. 

Close the Barnes door

Reports today say that Proteas’ bowling coach Vinnie Barnes has threatened to leave if he does not get the the position as South African head coach.

Big deal. Let him go.

Allan Donald should really be in that position in any case and it is a scandal that he continues to do work for other countries when you get the feeling he’d welcome an opportunity with open arms. Barnes has been criticized at many times during his time with the South African cricket team. He coached Makhaya Ntini for years and couldn’t teach him to bowl a slower ball for Pete’s sake.

Of course he’s not rubbish, but he is hardly the secret behind South Africa’s success is he? Dale Steyn and Morné Morkel are in the top 5 rankings in tests and ODIs and Lonwabo Tsotsobe is number 7 in ODIs. But it’s not as though you often hear them heaping praise on the guy. One of the most commonly held reasons for the country’s team not consistently being top of the pile has been the ‘sameness’ of the bowling attack.

Coaches have a lifespan and after 7 years in the Proteas’ setup I think that it’s time for old Vinnie to saunter off. Perhaps he can go and get some experience as a head coach at another team and then make a return.

Future format changes for international cricket?

Too many formats confusing?

Today we hear that the October test series between the Proteas and the Aussies has been reduced to just two matches. This is one less than the usual 3 match series that the sides have contested in the past, which many cricket purists have often suggested be extended. This is apparently due to a busy schedule, which basically means that there is something that the Indian cricket board have invented needs to take precedence. This time it is the Champions League T20 competition.

On the same day, England have broken the mould by announcing different permanent skippers for each format of international cricket currently being contested. Andrew Strauss retains the test captaincy, while Alastair Cook takes over the ODI reins and Stuart Broad with toss the coin and pose for the sponsors in the short form of the game, for those who struggle to concentrate for more than a couple of hours.

And so to the point of this post. Perhaps it’s time to take a new look at the format of the international game?

South Africa’s World Cup fixtures

Thursday 24 Feb 09h00 GMT West Indies
Thursday 3 Mar 04h00 GMT Netherlands
Sunday 6 Mar 04h00 GMT England
Saturday 12 Mar 09h00 GMT India
Tuesday 15 Mar 09h00 GMT Ireland
Saturday 19 Mar 03h30 GMT Bangladesh

Proteas Cricket World Cup survivors

An ODI World Cup year for a Proteas supporter has become a difficult balancing act of emotions. The team has taken its loyal following on a roller coaster over the last decade or so, mixing performances of world-leading class with inexplicable implosions.

I’ll never forget that feeling I had when the camera focussed on the great Allan Donald dejectedly stranded in the middle of pitch after that run out in 1999. Nor will I forget peeking at the TV from behind the couch during the 438 game. Cricket is a sport that brings out emotion in me unlike any other.

In a similar way to All Black rugby, the Proteas have been among the best in the world between world cups but have consistently failed to impress in the ODI show piece. The fifteen man squads have been announced this week and the South African selectors have decided on the group tasked with changing that.

Not the worst catch you’ll ever see