Andy Capostagno Cricket
The horse-trading is over. We hope by the time you read this the squad to tour England will have been announced. And as ever, the armchair critic has plenty to bellyache about. ‘Twas ever thus. But since a good deal of the pleasure to be found in watching sport is connected directly to the bile duct, come and let us bellyache together.
First of all, what has Pat Symcox done wrong? This is a tour of England. You need an off- spinner. A proper off-spinner, not Derek Crookes who bats well, fields brilliantly, but will never be a Test class offie as long as matches are played over five days, not one.
It is unfair to denigrate any player by praising another, but is it not logical that a tour which includes five Test matches and three one-day internationals should be embarked upon by Test players rather than one- day internationalists?
There was also a time when wicket-keeping, like off-spinning was taken seriously. A tour to England required two Test class wicket- keepers, not one batsman who might make it with the gloves (Boucher) and a string and sealing wax combination of “grabbers”. It has been seriously suggested that if Boucher is rested for a county game any one of Gerhardus Liebenberg, Adam Bacher, Daryll Cullinan or Gary Kirsten can stand in.
Shall we look at the reality? Bacher, Cullinan and Kirsten have never been picked by their provinces to keep wicket and, when thrust into the role due to injury, they have each performed in the only manner possible: treat it as a lark, try and keep the byes down and hope the skipper is so impressed that he never forces you to do the job again.
People who make their living at it are regarded as a few skewers short of a fondue. Which is all well and good until the man with the gloves drops a key catch or misses a stumping.
And then everybody has an opinion. Who now remembers Boucher’s miserable time in the first Test against Pakistan at the Wanderers?
Very well, the wise men of the United Cricket Board will say, in that event we’ll fly a keeper out and let Boucher get his confidence back in the county games.
Which means that Nic Pothas, or some unlucky soul, will be expected to put away his braai tongs, fly to England and perform as though he were in mid-season and prime form. That’s not smart thinking, Batman.
Now let’s look at the pace attack. For reasons that have become obvious, both Makhaya Ntini and Roger Telemachus had to be picked. I don’t have a problem with Ntini. He’s made his Test debut, performed okay and a tough tour of England could just be the making of him. Telemachus is a different kettle of fish.
Telemachus has performed well in the one-day triangular series, a milieu in which he is happy. He gets a new ball which swings, a nice long spell from the captain and hopefully, given South Africa’s bowling depth, doesn’t have to return for a second spell. And therein lies the problem.
The fairy granted three wishes, but didn’t entrust Telemachus with a second spell. Watch him playing for Boland in the Supersport Series and you get the picture.
The make-up of the rest of the pace attack is arguable, but you can feel the pressure building on Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock even now.
That’s why Symcox should have been picked. If
there is nothing in the pitch for the best seamers a quality off-spinner can at least give you some control.
Personally, I’m worried about how badly we have used our resources. No Fanie, no Big Mac, no Symmo. It’s the changing of the guard. Let’s hope the new kids on the block look good in bearskin hats.