The tour to England.

My analysis of the squads for the tour to England. P1, The test squad.

Image: Google images

Post squad announcement is one of the most controversial times in the history of competitive sports. A lot of varying opinions flying around and a lot of dissatisfaction from some people. CSA announced 3 squads for the tour to England and this has not been any different, a lot of mixed feelings and opinions around the squad. I look at each squad, give my opinion on each and pick my playing XI for each squad.

Let us first look at the test squad. Our test team is probably our best team at the moment based on where it is in the Test Championship Log and the number of matches the side has won. However, going against an overly aggressive English side under, former New Zealand captain, Brendon “Bazz” McCullum is going to be a daunting task for the Proteas. The English side proved too good for the current Test Championship holders, New Zealand and seem to play a very fearless brand of cricket or rather, Bazzball as known to some.

I have no doubt that our bowling attack, if fit, will be able to tame the English batters. However, it is our batters that I worry about. The side is also quite thin on batting experience as it is so the loss of Temba Bavuma might hurt the side. While Temba’s overall test numbers may not look impressive, he is currently one of the best if not the best batter in the side in the period of the test championship. He is the 2nd leading scorer behind Dean Elgar and has the highest average among SA’s current top 6/7. Temba continues to carry a monkey on his back with his lack of hundreds, but this is a monkey the top 6 is currently carrying together in the test championships. The guys have scored just 2 hundreds in the test championship but unlike in One Day Internationals, they have been able to win matches regardless of the lack of big individual scores. The batting line up may rely heavily on the experience of Captain Dean Elgar.

There is not a lot to worry about when it comes to the test team if recent performances are anything to go by but even though the team has won 5 out of 7 matches, there has been issues with the balance of the squad. Nobody has come in at 7 and scored the much required runs in a brittle batting line up. Will the Proteas go in with 7 batters or will they continue with Marco Jansen regardless of his lack of experience as a First Class 7? Marco is 2 wickets behind Kagiso Rabada on the list of most wickets taken in the Test Championship for SA but leaving out Anrich and Lungi would not be easy for the selectors. A few people have also expressed interest in seeing the team pick two spinners, an opinion I am struggling to buy into. If the wickets are conducive to spin, then the team can go in with two spinners. However, my concern is our inability to use a spinner properly and our evident lack of backing for a spinner. Our captain will be quoted saying that he is not comfortable going into a test match without a spinner and still not bowl the spinner or give the spinner one or two overs. Simon Harmer and Keshav would make a wonderful pair and they have shown that, when used well, they can win matches for the side.

It is good that someone like Ryan Rickelton is in England and scoring runs. I tend to worry about Keegan Petersen who did not seem to have a great season in England. However, I worry more about Kyle Verreynne, who has fantastic footwork behind the stumps but seemed to get stuck in his crease against New Zealand. How would he survive against Broad and Anderson IN ENGLAND conditions remains to be seen?

There are also many speculations and questions around Temba’s replacement. Should Ryan Rickelton stay in the side even though Rassie is back? If Khaya plays and replaces Temba, who makes way for him? Does Rassie walk into the side, and will Aiden Markram make a return to the starting XI?
I will try to answer these questions after I have listed my XI for the first test below.

MY PLAYING XI

1.       Dean Elgar©

2.       SJ Erwee

3.       Keegan Petersen

4.       Khaya Zondo

5.       Aiden Markram

6.       Ryan Rickelton

7.       Kyle Verreynne(wk)

8.       Marco Jansen

9.       Keshav Maharaj

10.   Kagiso Rabada

11.   Lungi Ngidi

Image: CSA Facebook page

·       Rassie – Not only is he not scoring runs at the moment, but he is also scoring at an exceptionally low scoring rate. I know most people tend to question the importance of a strike rate in test cricket, but such thinking is backward. You can never influence a test match if you are scoring at 36% strike rate. I have picked Aiden because I want us to go in with 7 genuine batting options and even though Aiden has not scored many runs either, trying him in his natural position in the middle order might be a gamble worth taking.

·       Anrich – leaving him out was difficult but we want him to fully recover and find his rhythm. I would rest him for the first test.

·        Ryan Rickelton has done well and certainly deserves to be persisted with. He is currently in England playing county cricket and scoring runs too.

Article does not consider full career stats for players but only the period of the Championship. From the first match until the last match played by the Proteas in the test Championship.