With the last FC final under this current format approaching, it is time to ponder upon the look of the Proteas future test squad and then seethe in blind frustration as Boucher and co go with the most conservative options anyways.
Faf's overdue retirement has opened up a spot for grabs and this time there are no 'experienced' heads pushing for his spot. Unless they convince QdK to give up his gloves for a spot at five and hand them to
Rudi Second, which wouldn't be the worst idea in the world if there weren't two exciting talents pushing for a spot...
Kyle Verreynne's excellent double century and century in consecutive games means that he is probably the most obvious replacement choice. He's already got international experience and can potentially allow QdK to give up the gloves too. Haven't seen him keep but QdK's keeping is very good and athletic barring the odd mishap due to his basics not being excellent. Might be an issue as he grows older but by then the team will probably have a bunch of other keepers squabbling over his spot.
So back to the topic. Verreynne's averaging what, 56? It is impossible to ignore such a talented player with the numbers to back it up. Even if there are concerns over how he might bat without the gloves and even if there is a question mark over his conversion rate. It would be almost too easy to just slot him in at four instead of Faf...
....but my pick for Faf's replacement would still be
Raynard van Tonder who would have made his debut versus Sri Lanka had it not been for his most untimely injury. He's been consistently near the top of the run scoring charts in FC cricket and it is criminal that he hasn't been given a game yet. He averages 49 in his own right and has a very decent conversion rate. Most importantly, he can also bat in the top four, has leadership experience and has passed the eye test to even the most casual of SA cricket observers (except the ones actually making decisions apparently).
If it were up to me, I would have them both in the XI. Who wouldn't want two players below 24 averaging either side of 50 with consistent performances in the team? This has been long overdue, just get them into the playing XI and be done with it. I would also have
Keegan Petersen in the side. It's surprising that he hasn't played a single international game till date. Can convert his starts very well and is another number three whose recent numbers do him far more justice than the earlier ones. He is also a more attacking player these days in comparison to van Tonder and I believe that his ability to tackle spin must be decent considering that he plays for the Dolphins side so I would have him in at number four.
The big question is what to do with the current incumbents.
Markram is the leading run-scorer this season and has been long touted as the next superstar of the SA batting lineup.
Elgar is the captain and is still more than serviceable even if he isn't quite as good now as the leading act in comparison to the previous times where he was just another supporting cog (just like Faf).
Rassie is the huge controversial decision, he has started his test career adequately but that is all I see him ever doing, being an adequate test batsman who can punch above his metaphorical weight sometimes. His domestic career is good but is it worth a top order spot when there are other younger talents with a lot more potential and better if not equal numbers pushing for a spot? I could see him working as the number five or six in a lineup where there is a well established top four that can do the bulk of scoring with him chipping in fifties but not as the number three or four. Funny that he is in many aspects similar to Faf who was another player that debuted late and was always a slightly limited player with elite mentality who had to grind down attacks for his scores. South Africa could do a world of good to him and play him in the LO formats that could reward him and the team more.
And then the big question mark is over the vice-captain,
Temba Bavuma. He was the second best batsman in their most recent series but I've been calling for him to be dropped for a long, long time. It isn't just the obvious reason that he keeps getting picked, this team has suffered a bunch of legendary retirements that would affect most sides and leave it short of experience. At that time, the other established seniors were hardly performing themselves either and Bavuma's direct competition in de Bruyn was performing even worse. In such circumstances, Bavuma was just being kept in due to his experience and to keep a familiar face around. He also couldn't be dropped when the other players were equally bad. A catch-22 is what ensued.
It is tough to drop him too when he was one of the few who looked like they could score versus Pakistan. However, how long will his pretty and gritty 30s before getting out be appreciable though? If it were up to me, I would give him a couple of series' at number five (the position where he averages the most) so that he can bat with more established batsmen for a longer time instead of the tail (although Maharaj is very handy down the order) and tell him that he needs to buck his ideas up and convert those starts into serious runs. He has found his niche as the skipper in the LO formats. That will already be a significant workload on it's own given what he means to his entire community in addition to leading a side that fared poorly in the last ODI WC.
I would keep Quinny down at seven at the moment to allow him to regain confidence and relieve some of the pressure on himself. Let him make the playing XI as a keeper for the next couple of series.
Two players that I expected to see in the SA lineup in the near future but have disappointed this season are
Hamza and
Qeshile. They are still young enough to bounce back but they may find the door harder to keep open the next time they have the spotlight on them. On the other hand,
Rickleton, Zondo, Breetzke and
de Swardt have all been impressive in parts (with the exception of Rickleton who has been consistent) and should push for spots very soon.
As for the all-rounders,
Linde and/or
Mulder should probably play depending on the conditions and country with Mulder probably being close to a regular unless the side needs a spinner with more batting skill or a sixth batsman. Mulder is more of a batting all-rounder even if his initial international stats suggest otherwise. Expecting his fragile body to bowl a lot of overs would be tough and he isn't express pace either to justify short bursts of spells. Will be interesting to see his bowling workload. Linde is the type of player who makes things happen. It shouldn't matter that him and Maharaj bowl the same type of spin, there are differences in the way they bowl and they are the two best red ball spinners in the country after all.
The pacers should have the usual suspects of
Rabada,
Nortje and
Ngidi. A fully fit and rapid Ngidi like in his debut series could easily be the second choice ahead of Nortje but the latter showed courageous discipline in his five wicket haul in Rawalpindi. It is also tough to dismiss someone who can easily crank it up to 150 if required, even if I believe that
Dupavillon without injuries could have easily bettered Nortje.
Stuurman should slot in as Philander's long overdue successor with
Hendricks being another option and then there's
Sipamla and
Migael Pretorius, both of whom have good pace alongside domestic stats that show their calibre. Beyond that, the potential of IPL bound
Marco Jansen and hotshot
Gerald Coetzee is scary with
Thando Ntini adding to the depth.
Dean Elgar
Aiden Markram
Raynard van Tonder
Keegan Petersen
Kyle Verreynne
Wiaan Mulder
Quinton de Kock
Keshav Maharaj
Kagiso Rabada
Anrich Nortje
Lungi Ngidi
The other players I've mentioned throughout can all be capable backups with the more experienced heads probably in front of the queue. Imagine having the likes of Erwee, Malan, Rassie, Bavuma and Second on the bench to bolster the batting depth with Stuurman, Hendricks, Dupavillon, Sipamla and Pretorius for bowling depth. Muthusamy's also been terrific this season (albeit on sluggish surfaces), will be interesting to see how he gets along the next time he might get a chance.
