Prompted by limerick writer and general people pisser offer David Bird yesterday as to what my problem is with the national side and what exactly I would change I had to think a little. Not so much about what I would change but about what it is about that I hate so much.
I think my biggest gripe with the team is the very buddy-buddy feeling there is between certain players. So often, in my opinion, South Africa does not look like a team. We all know that there are players in the team who are only there because of their skin colour but even when a player of colour does well it just seems as if though he would never make it into the certain cliques. Kallis, Boucher. Smith, Kallis. AB, Kallis. It’s a pain. And as much as I like to make fun of Harro, he is just the white trash refugee who people like to pick on cause he is too kind to fight back.
As for the changes, first and foremost, I would sack Smith as captain and give the armband to Hashim Amla. South Africa is a lovely country with a complex history and a colourful bunch of people. Amla is an excellent role model to kids in a country so diverse with the difference between the rich and the poor as vast as the difference between Paul Harris and Shane Warne but we all look up to our national teams. Smith is an arrogant, selfish little rich boy and he couldn’t be humble if he was a disciple.
My team would look like this.
Graeme Smith
Alviro Petersen
Hashim Amla (capt)
Jacques Kallis
AB de Villiers
Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt)
JP Duminy
Dale Steyn
Morne Morkel
Imran Tahir
Lonwabo Tsotsobe
12th man – Brett Pesler
I would keep Duminy in the side for his bowling and develop the little bit of talent he does seem to have in order to turn him into a bowling all-rounder who can frustrate teams when it matters. Tsotsobe comes in for Parnell, both left-armers. Parnell needs some time to develop and I’ll leave him to develop in the one-day arena.
I’ve never been a fan of Morkel and every little bit of like I had for him disappeared during the tour of Australia when he was bowling 2000000 extras per over. When you are in the office at 1am, alone and nobody to bitch to about inconsistency you tend to scream at the desk and then just start hating the players who are frustrating you so much. But he gets to stay, for now.
Alviro gets to stay purely because I’ve wanted him in the national side since they dropped Neil Mac.
Mark Boucher goes and new, younger keeper comes in. For no other reason than what happened to Makayha Ntini. Boucher might not be one of my favourite people but he is a good player and he has been a prominent part of the South African team. I would rather have him retire in his prime than see him fade out like a forgotten child star after he gets given a fridge.
As keeper I’d select Mangaliso Mosehle, to keep the quota punters happy and to start shaping him for a future. The boy is 19 and has a high score of 74 in frist class cricket, averaging 22.89 in 13 matches, I know that’s not a whole lot but I really believe that young players need to be brought in as young as possible in order to be developed into superstars. The pressure of the international arena might prove to be a bit much for a youngster but he might just turn up and surprise everyone. There’s also Heino Kuhn….
I’ll sort out Imran Tahir’s visa and whatever other issues he has got, bribe somebody if I must, but do whatever it takes to get him in the national side.
Brett Pesler, a number two from North West get the 12th man gig. With a top score of 163 and an average of 56.19 in 17 matches this 24 year old might be worth a try, no? If needs be, I’ll try shuffle the order or put him lower down somewhere….if JP or Alviro or whoever else fails. I’m all for wielding the axe if players do not perform.
South Africa haven’t really ever been able to produce the calibre of players like Australia, India and the old West Indies were able to. We don’t really have the Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrists. There are no Sachin Tendulkars and Rahul Dravids and certainly no Brian Laras or Curtley Ambroses. The Proteas, in my opinion, have a problem with producing legendary, cult like players who can have a slump in form and come with a bang.
Or start with a bang and just keep going with a bang. Yes, Kallis has scored plenty of runs and Smith has done a decent job but they just don’t sit with me like my other cricketing heroes do. Therefore, I would rather have players go once they have served their time instead of giving them a fridge and banishing them to the domestic league where they’ll be left to rot.
So, my dear friend David, to answer your question about what I would change….a damn awful lot.
I had a dream last night that Mickey Arthur killed himself because he was so embarrassed by South Africa’s performance. Gosh.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I like what you say about the cliques in the team. I can guess at similar ones within the England camp, but it’s hard to know for certain without being a lot closer to the offenders than I am. One gets the feeling “The Great” Freddie Flintoff isn’t quite the harmony-embracing super chap the media want him to be. I guess Smith and Kallis, for all the respect they must get from their piers, must have some detractors for appearing so harsh. If Graeme Smith was a noise, he’d be fingernails down a blackboard. Or should that be rainbow-board?
Agreed, but almost.. would still like to see Parnell in, he’s got something abt him.. Smith doesn’t use him enuff.. Al-Virus opening.. watever hapnd to Gibbsy? Is he in asylum in his garden? Al-virus can come in when grandpa Jakes decides to call it a day. until then has to wait. Tahir looks good.. no idea abt the best keepers so wont comment.. Bouch Douche definitely has to go. ROFL(Merwe) was good so if Doominy cant bat ever again he cant sit as well.. wat say?
.-= Mock Wah´s last blog ..DLF IPL 3.0 – Shane Warne, Royals & Vastu Shastra =-.
Intelligence and simipcltiy – easy to understand how you think.
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I would like to give Tsotsobe a try while Parnell refines his skill. Gibbs is on fire in the domestic T20s but he is also reaching his sell by date, especially in the longer formats. He is too busy sniffing out pot plants. Not sure how well RVDM’s close my eyes and hit strategy would go down in Tests but maybe worth a shot, better option than Botha for sure.
I always liked RVDM, for some reason he reminds me of Darren Gough (not his bowling style, obviously).
Wow, where do I begin?
Why would you want to take the captaincy away from Smith? He has been our most successful captain. Every decision he makes, he does so with the teams best interest at heart. Do you watch his press conferences? He IS humble. The attitude you perceive to be arrogance is actually passion for the game and pride for playing for his country.
Dropping Boucher. WTF? Are you nuts? Does form count for nothing in your team? How about experience? He’s in the form of his life with the bat and behind the stumps he’s a tactical genious. I doubt you realise just how many fielding changes are made by him alone, and how affective they can be. Sometimes the very next ball.
No matter how frustrated you may get at 1am, Morkel and Steyn will probably open for the next 6 years. Fact.
“The Proteas, in my opinion, have a problem with producing legendary, cult like players…”
—Right so you’re saying Graeme Pollock, Allan Donald, Lance Klusener, Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs are not legendary, cult like players in their own right?
Look at the cap numbers on our shirts. They are low. Our wonderful nation has not played as must cricket as we ideally would have liked. But don’t you think we’re playing a damn fine game considering?
Love you lots
x
I’ve sat in numerous Smithers pressers and I know a few people who have met him who sing the same tune: he is arrogant. I hate his attitude and I really do not like him, personally I feel Amla would make a far better leader than Smith. Yes, he has come miles from the start of his captaining days but it’s time to go.
Yes, Bouch is in form, yes he has had a great career but he won’t last forever. I don’t propose he be dropped in an instant but if his injuries start to creep up like they did in this series then we’re definitely going to need somebody new behind the stumps. You can’t keep sticking with the tried, tested and failed (and sometimes succeeded) plan over and over. New faced, young players, development. It’s so important and it’s part of what makes Australia SUCH a great cricketing nation. And I would rather have Bouch bow out gracefully than get given a fridge (or maybe he’ll get lucky and get a deep freeze or even a whole host of Russell Hobbs sponsored prizes since he is white) and banished to domestic existence.
And yes, Steyn and Morkel will probably be around for a while still – so be it then. Important not to forget about all the other talents we have in the country because you are scared it might upset the balance
Klusener, forgotten (aside from that dreadful run out which wasn’t his fault), Gibbs, pothead, outcast, forgotten, playing for Swazi in the Standard Bank series. Pollock, before my time, Kirsten – legend but not quite BCL, talented but just no flair to make him into a “cult” figure. Allan Donald, great player but was never a fan (blame my mother entirely)
Never did I say we’re not doing a fair job, we are, of course. But it’s a national past time to whine about our nation sporting sides. Hence why I have not posted anything about the final day at Eden Gardens, for once, I don’t actually have anything negative to say. But that’s a story for another post…
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that was tact…
msprint, we are waiting
I’m with Daniel – why on earth would you remove Smith as captain? He might be a fat bastard and not very smart, but he’s done a good job I reckon.
.-= Sid´s last blog ..The Ponting Effect =-.
I have just now chanced upon this post via the news24 blog roll. I’m sorry – but this strikes me as a bit rash.
Smith has done a fine job as captain. He had an interesting start, and a massive slump, but he’s been a pretty good nut. He’s also grown and improved continuously. Amla is possibly the best choice for the next cpatain, and I’d certainly start grooming him for the role. We don’t want the debacles of before (Polly forced in the deep end because of the Cronjegate, and Smith pushed in with very little prior experience). It’s a tribute to these two great players that we still managed to hold our own, and even come to dominate small periods with such harsh beginnings to their captaincy careers.
Keepers – we do need a bit of new blood. I’m beyond pissed off that CSA didn’t try harder to get Kieswetter back before he qualified for England. But that’s water under the bridge. Your choice is fair game.
Tsostebe in for Parnell? You’re basically throwing Tsotsebe to the wolves. He’s about as inexperienced as Parnell was, and will drown in international waters. I have more respect for him than that.
I’m also interested to hear if you’ve changed your opinion about Morne Morkel. I’ve always admred his talent, and now he’s started to prove his worth. Morkel is the real deal, and with Steyn that’s a fast bowling partnership to be proud of.
Besides that – we have produced several legends of the game – Graeme Pollock is rightly considered among the greatest left arm bats of all time; Kallis is among the top 3 all-rounders of all time and Donald is mentioned in the same breath as Malcolm Marshall. But you also need to give credit to brilliant names from the world stage. Just because they’re before your time doesn’t diminish their impact. Bradman and Hutton were before your time – do you discount their genius? So spare a thought for Barry Richards, Hugh Tayfield and Eddie Barlow. Greats – we have quite a few.
Hey Alex, thanks for your comment – this post was written quite some time ago so maybe my sacking of Smith was a bit harsh. I am definitely not disregarding what Smith has done and where he came in…but he just irks me. He has grown a lot and improved a lot, I do agree but it is time to start grooming somebody else at least. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him for walking out to bat with a broken hand in Australia and for many other things.
Also agree with you on the Kieswetter thing *sigh* IF ONLY and Tsotsobe, for this team, was chosen merely for quota reasons
As for Morkel, as I said on the sport24 blog, I can’t shake my dislike for him. His inconsistency drives me mad. I was working for a cricket website when we were touring Oz and being at work all alone at 3am to watch him struggle to keep his big fat foot behind the line drove me mad. I don’t care how well he bowls, he annoyed the hell out of me many a graveyard shift. It’s a personal grudge, won’t shake it.
And yes, we have produced some “greats”, hell even Paul Adams was a legend in his time but I just don’t think we produce rolemodels…(I think I misworeded this bit). There are very few that I can think of. Perhaps it’s because, growing up, I was more into the West Indies than South Africa…but I’ve always had a hard time relating to the South African side (I’m a tragic romantic) so Jonty was my boy because he overcame epilipsy and still did such a remarkable job. I know not everybody can have a romantic story but the current crop of players all have a party boy reputation, not something I want my children (which I don’t have yet) to look at and go hey I wanna be like them.
Ah. Rolemodels – that’s a different kettle of fish entirely. Although, I wouldn’t regard Ponting as a role model for anything. I do have kids (twins – I’m hoping the new opening bat and bowling combination for SA – and one is a left armer! Hoping he’ll fit your bill of role model and overcome his cerebral palsy and open the bowling in 20 years), and I can pick certain elements from the current crop of players that I would like them to emulate.
eg. Smith’s determination – ever since that story he told of writing his goals down and putting them on the fridge in school. One of the goals was to CAPTAIN SA in cricket – that’s aiming high, and achieving it!
Kallis’s concentration – his spells at the crease are still unmatched, except possibly by Dravid.
Steyn’s all round goodness – he’s a great guy, and he works hard, and he can look deep inside during a match and turn on the aggression – which isn’t part of his nature.
But as a whole – yeah there are few players that fill the requirements of “emulate him, and only him”. They’re human. Maybe that’s what you’re missing – you want the divine …
– Keanu is the pefcert example of that. I mean, try to come up with someone better for THE MATRIX. It’s hard to do.Like or Dislike: 0 0
But look what Smith has turned into…agree with Dale Steyn but then his aggression is so easily misinterpreted as being okay to be aggressive.
Perhaps I do want the divine…but are Sachin and Lara not divine…?