Gibson considering taking five all-rounders to WC?
MIGHT the Proteas include two or three all-rounders in the squad for the World Cup in 2019? What about four? Five even?
According to Proteas coach Ottis Gibson, he might take them all to England. “If we’ve got four or five all-rounders performing well with bat and ball... I often talk to the players about no limits, and that is something that, when the time comes, maybe the case with selection too,” Gibson said this week.
South African cricket presently has a depth of seam bowling all-rounders that is reminiscent of the late 1990s and early 2000s when Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis and Lance Klusener were in the national team providing, depth in batting and extra options in the bowling department.
The current crop aren’t of that quality yet, but part of Gibson and the national selectors’ policy of “widening the net” is to provide opportunities so that they can assess the quality. “We are going to pick people that are going to help us win the World Cup and if we feel we need more all-rounders then, if they are performing well and we know they will perform in those conditions, then the team might well be filled with all-rounders, but we don’t know that yet,” said Gibson.
Right now, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Dwaine Pretorius, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Wiaan Mulder and even Robbie Frylinck can be considered as being in competition for a World Cup spot. The Cape Cobras’ Jason Smith may yet be drawn into the mix too.
Gibson cited England’s successful use of all-rounders for their limited overs sides recently as a reference point for the Proteas. “If you look at England, who are doing really well at the moment, they’ve got four or five (all-rounders) in their team.” (Included among those is spinner Moeen Ali).
It is certainly a far cry from the situation facing the selection panel in 2015 when with Philander already in the squad they sought a second option. It came down to a choice between Parnell and Ryan McLaren. The latter had played 41 of his 54 ODIs in the two years before the 2015 World Cup, but was then left out of the squad, as Parnell’s oft-mentioned “X factor” held sway with the selectors. Parnell played just once at the 2015 tournament.
Given how the Proteas one-day side has been operating recently - even before Gibson’s appointment - it wouldn’t be a surprise if as many as three seam bowling all-rounders start a match.
Gibson’s initial involvement with the national team against Bangladesh has seen him – and the selectors – show a willingness to give as many players as possible an opportunity with age not being a factor. Mulder is just 19, but Gibson took one look at him and roped him into the Test squad.
Similarly, Frylinck, 33, was seemingly picked out of nowhere to play in the two T20 matches against Bangladesh. “When I asked around the country about, especially one-day cricket, everyone said he was one of the best white-ball cricketers in the country. Because we spoke about widening the pool, it’s only fair, that if we are widening the pool, you look at him,” Gibson explained.
“People will say he’s 33, a young guy coming in doesn’t have the experience of a 33 year old. There’s a trade off... you want to look at young guys, but you also want to see what the experienced guys can bring to the table. He did well over the T20 games. The ball is in his court...”
Mulder’s call-up to train with the Proteas before the first Test in Potchefstroom, was also done with an eye on the future. “It was a good opportunity... so he can get a feel for what international cricket is all about, but then we saw an opportunity to give him a game as well and he did well... he’ll be back in franchise cricket, hopefully buzzing and excited about his future as well. There is a message in that for every young cricketer and high performing cricketer in the country.”