Indian cricket tour 'a new start'
Brad Morgan
29 October 2004
"It's almost a new start, a second start from readmission", national cricket captain Graeme Smith declared after the announcement of the team to tour India in November. With four new caps, a couple of recalls, and youth prevalent, it is a very different looking South African side.
It includes four new caps: Hashim Amla, Zander de Bruyn, Thami Tsolekile, and Alfonso Thomas.
With his selection, Amla becomes the first player of Asian descent to play for South Africa. The KZN Dolphins' captain, aged just 21, has been one of the most impressive players in the new Supersport Series that, for the first time, is being played along franchise lines, featuring only six teams.
In just six first-class matches, eight innings, Amla has tallied over 600 runs, including four centuries, at an average of 86 per innings. New national coach Ray Jennings was full of praise for Amla when asked about his selection: "Hashim … a special man", he said.
'A very special technique'
"You know, his heart, and his passion, and his loyalty and respect to me as a person has been unbelievable, and it's something that I really treasure from a player", Jennings said.
"When you look at his talent, he's got a very special technique. He's very different to anybody else and, from a captain's point of view, trying to set fields … it's very difficult to set a field to him because he actually hits balls in different areas.
"Out of all the players in South African cricket, I would think from August the first, when I started with the new team, he's been the most consistent run getter, and I would say he warrants his position more than anybody in the team."
Selection on form
That last comment from Jennings probably best sums up the selection of the squad for India. Jennings and the selectors are looking at in-form players more than has been done before, rather than hanging onto
players that are not performing.
That's why Mark Boucher, a fixture in a South African record 75 consecutive Tests, has been omitted from the team.
"Mark hasn't performed up to scratch", says Jennings, himself a former wicketkeeper. "But I know Mark, he'll be back. He's still a guy I believe can potentially be number one in the world."
New cap Thami Tsolekile replaces Boucher, and captain Smith, who plays with Tsolekile for Western Province Boland, reckons the new man is definitely up to the task: "He's a really good glove man", says Smith.
"Talented, he's got great ability ... his input, even as a young guy, is going to be important. A wicketkeeper plays a vital role in a team."
The 1 000 run milestone
The other two new caps, Zander de Bruyn and Alfonso Thomas, have both benefited from playing under Jennings.
In the 2003/2004 first-class season, with Easterns and playing under Jennings, De Bruyn cracked the 1 000
runs in a season milestone, making 1 015 in 15 innings at an average of 72.50. His efforts included three centuries and five fifties.
Thomas shone earlier this season, playing for Jennings and South Africa A against New Zealand A. In a winning effort by the local team, he was the top wicket taker on either side, picking up 12 at the miserly average of just 18 a wicket. And he conceded less than two runs an over.
A notable absentee from the squad is opening batsman, Herschelle Gibbs. He has withdrawn from the tour because of concerns that he could be arrested in India as part of an investigation into match-fixing.
Planning to tour
Both Gibbs and Nicky Boje have answered questionnaires sent to them by Indian police. While Gibbs is not travelling, Boje, who has been appointed vice-captain, is planning on making the trip.
United Cricket Board CEO Gerald Majola says he is going to request that, if any questioning of Boje is to take
place, it should be done at Delhi Airport on the team's arrival. "I prefer it this way, because someone is lawfully not in another country until he has passed through immigration", Majola reckons.
If, after questioning, Boje decides to continue with the tour, he will be accompanied by a group of South African legal representatives. Team media manager Gerald de Kock has also been given the task of shielding Boje from the media.
Should Boje withdraw from the squad, Boeta Dippenaar would take over the reins of vice-captain.
Recalled players
There are recalls to the national team for Andrew Hall and Justin Ontong.
Hall was the heart and soul of the Easterns team that Jennings steered to a surprising Supersport Series triumph in 2002/2003. He is a player who has shown over and over again that he has the intangibles that make the difference between being a good player and being a special player.
Ontong, after a rough
introduction to international cricket against Australia, earns himself another chance at the big time. He has been steady more than spectacular in 2004, but his 2003 season was noteworthy. In 13 first-class innings he scored 614 runs, including three centuries and two fifties.
Martin van Jaarsveld is another man who is champing at the bit, hoping to be given a full run. He currently tops the Supersport Series averages, with 315 runs scored at 105. That includes an unbeaten 236 against Western Province Boland.
The four remaining players in the side include some very experienced star performers: Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, and Jacques Rudolph.
Extra pressure on senior players
Captain Graeme Smith admits there will be extra pressure on the senior players because of the special demands of a tour of India: "We have got a lot of young guys. We have a lot of inexperienced guys in terms of touring India, so the senior guys,
the more experienced guys, will have to carry a lot more on their shoulders. Their workload is going to be two-fold."
Like Smith, Jennings also recognises that his first assignment is going to present a massive challenge: "It's possibly the hardest tour South African cricket's going to be faced with since 1992", he says.
'One hell of a tour'
"We have got four new caps in the side. We're going to India with the Hansie Cronje issue still over our heads. We've got players like Gibbs not playing, guys like Andre Nel injured, Mark Boucher out, Darryl Cullinan not being considered.
"It's going to be one hell of a tour, and hopefully I can keep the spirits of South African cricket flying high when we return."
Smith says he is looking forward to working with Jennings: "I think Ray and I have similar beliefs in the way the national team should be, and how they should play the game, and how they should represent their country. Certainly,
I think he'll inject something new and fresh into the team, and certainly add a lot of value."
True, this South African team is not nearly as experienced as many of recent times, but it is also true that this team is one that is talented, in form, and raring to take on possibly the toughest challenge in Test cricket, a tour of India.
Tour schedule
14 - 16 Nov: Three-day match vs BCCI XI, Jaipur
20 - 24 Nov: 1st Test vs India, Green Park, Kanpur
28 Nov - 2nd Dec: 2nd Test, Eden Gardens, Kolkata
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