A Summer of Cricket for the Proteas!

The Proteas have not played a single match since they crashed out of the World cup early this year.

This will be a busy season of cricket for them as it starts with a visit from the old enemy Australia.

Coaching the side

A lot has happened since the world cup around the Proteas set-up with regards to changes. They now have a new coach in Gary Kirsten who won the world cup with India. It will be interesting to see how the team plays with him in charge. Allan Donald is the new bowling coach replacing Vincent Barnes. He has worked in England and New Zealand before this. I hope he does something about our fast bowling reserves as I think we are lacking. A guy like Wayne Parnell will gain a lot from working with AD.

New Captaincy

AB De Villiers is the new ODI captain after Graeme Smith stepped down from the position. Hashim Amla will be his deputy.

AB has been participating in the Champions League T20 over in India and has suffered a broken hand during the tournament. He will be out for about 6 weeks. This has ruled him out of the ODI series against Australia and a chance to lead the side for the 1st time. Amla will take over in his absence. Should be interesting to see Amla’s style of captaincy? He is a very reserved character.Smith continues as Test captain as usual. There are no changes there.

Selection Dilemma

 One Day side
The injury to AB is a triple loss for the side. He is a captain, wicket keeper and top order batsman. Replacing him will no doubt upset the balance of the side. It looks as if Mark Boucher will return behind the stumps but the selectors might use this opportunity to give someone else a chance maybe looking at the future.

There are also questions regarding the spinners in the side. The world cup was played in Asia and South Africa could play 3 spinners sometimes more. Johan Botha, Robin Peterson and Imran Tahir did a great job but now the selectors will be forced to pick one spinner in South African conditions. This will not be easy. Graeme Smith is another question mark as he has stepped down as ODI captain and has been injured lately.

Test Side 
The Test team appears settled apart from a couple of areas. Alviro Petersen hit a century this past weekend to start the domestic season. He has not cemented his place opening the batting next to Smith. His position is uncertain this season. The 6th batsman also is uncertain right now. We are not sure between Ashwel Prince and JP Duminy as to who will bat there. It looks likely that Imran Tahir will make his Test debut against Australia this season as Paul Harris has been left out of contract. The rest of the bowling appears solid.

A person fighting for a place in the side is Jacque Rudolph. It will be interesting how long the selectors will keep ignoring his talents.

Summer Fixtures
South Africa will play 2 T20 matches against Australia to start the summer in October. This will be followed by 3 ODI matches and 2 Test matches. In December Sri lanka will arrive to play 3 Test matches and 5 ODI matches. In February and March next year the Proteas will embark on a full tour of New Zealand.

It is going to be a busy 6 months for the Proteas and their fans.