It is now less than one week to go until we play our first match of Cricket World Cup 2015; this Sunday 15 February, we play Zimbabwe at Seddon Park in Hamilton. After a full week off, we then face India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday 22 February, followed by the West Indies at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Friday 27 February. Ireland follows in Canberra on Tuesday 3 March, before we head back to New Zealand to face Pakistan at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday 7 March 7, and our final game against the UAE at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Thursday 12 March.
Having assessed the strength of our batsmen last week, this week I would like to analyse our bowlers. Our attack is led by Dale Steyn, who in my opinion is the third of our three key players (along with Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers). Steyn has won many a game for the Proteas and will enjoy the quicker Australian wickets, though he is a good enough player to adapt and thrive on all surfaces. This is likely to be Steyn’s final World Cup and he will desperately want to go out on a high.
The other quicks, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, are automatic selections, both having had good series against the West Indies. Just a few months back Philander was not in the one-day international (ODI) starting XI but he has forced his way in on the back of some phenomenal Test performances and we now enjoy the same pace trio in both the Test and ODI arenas.
Leg-spinner Imran Tahir will be the final name on the team-sheet and he too enjoyed an encouraging series against the West Indies, picking up eight wickets in three matches. In one of those three, he did have a huge total to play with and there are concerns about his ability to tie up an end. With runs on the board he is more of a threat and if our batsmen continue to post big totals, Tahir will be able to attack more.
Alongside Tahir, JP Duminy has improved as an off-spinner while Farhaan Berhardien has also turned his arm over on occasions. Duminy tends to concede less runs and could be used to tie up an end while Berhardien will be better suited to the slower New Zealand pitches.
A key area of concern is our death bowling, traditionally a weak aspect of our game. Steyn has been tasked with death-bowling duties before, and will likely perform that role D own Under.
A second area of slight worry is the quality of our back-up bowlers. Kyle Abbott has in the past been very expensive while Wayne Parnell’s consistency is a worry. Thankfully he appears to be improving on that front: in the two matches he played against West Indies he maintained an economy rate of under five and picked up five wickets, including four at SuperSport Park in the fifth and final ODI. He offers something different being left-handed and can bowl really quickly when he gets his tail up.
Barring injuries, I do not see any changes from the line-up below:
Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, David Miller, JP Duminy, Farhaan Berhardien, Philander, Steyn, Morkel, Tahir
In 1992, we headed Down Under for our first ever World Cup and surprised the world by beating Australia by nine wickets in the opening game and progressing to the semi-final.
23 years later we return Down Under as one of the pre-tournament favourites. We will definitely need the odd slice or two of luck to go our way and if it does, I am confident our journey will come full circle and this enormous monkey can finally be lifted off our backs.
Come on the Proteas!
Having assessed the strength of our batsmen last week, this week I would like to analyse our bowlers. Our attack is led by Dale Steyn, who in my opinion is the third of our three key players (along with Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers). Steyn has won many a game for the Proteas and will enjoy the quicker Australian wickets, though he is a good enough player to adapt and thrive on all surfaces. This is likely to be Steyn’s final World Cup and he will desperately want to go out on a high.
The other quicks, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, are automatic selections, both having had good series against the West Indies. Just a few months back Philander was not in the one-day international (ODI) starting XI but he has forced his way in on the back of some phenomenal Test performances and we now enjoy the same pace trio in both the Test and ODI arenas.
Leg-spinner Imran Tahir will be the final name on the team-sheet and he too enjoyed an encouraging series against the West Indies, picking up eight wickets in three matches. In one of those three, he did have a huge total to play with and there are concerns about his ability to tie up an end. With runs on the board he is more of a threat and if our batsmen continue to post big totals, Tahir will be able to attack more.
Alongside Tahir, JP Duminy has improved as an off-spinner while Farhaan Berhardien has also turned his arm over on occasions. Duminy tends to concede less runs and could be used to tie up an end while Berhardien will be better suited to the slower New Zealand pitches.
A key area of concern is our death bowling, traditionally a weak aspect of our game. Steyn has been tasked with death-bowling duties before, and will likely perform that role D own Under.
A second area of slight worry is the quality of our back-up bowlers. Kyle Abbott has in the past been very expensive while Wayne Parnell’s consistency is a worry. Thankfully he appears to be improving on that front: in the two matches he played against West Indies he maintained an economy rate of under five and picked up five wickets, including four at SuperSport Park in the fifth and final ODI. He offers something different being left-handed and can bowl really quickly when he gets his tail up.
Barring injuries, I do not see any changes from the line-up below:
Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, David Miller, JP Duminy, Farhaan Berhardien, Philander, Steyn, Morkel, Tahir
In 1992, we headed Down Under for our first ever World Cup and surprised the world by beating Australia by nine wickets in the opening game and progressing to the semi-final.
23 years later we return Down Under as one of the pre-tournament favourites. We will definitely need the odd slice or two of luck to go our way and if it does, I am confident our journey will come full circle and this enormous monkey can finally be lifted off our backs.
Come on the Proteas!
