if Markram bats, not sure why there's an "if" instead of a should, let it go at that .....Amla to open, an allrounder, 3 quicks and a spinner in a balanced side...question....which batsman would you drop?
This is easy. I'd kick Miller to the bench.
He is wonderfull to watch, but way too inconsistent.
My question was prompted after I read an article in which the scribe suggested dropping van der Dussen. He did acknowledge that it would be unfortunate because the said batsman has a batting average of 89 and he chose one allrounder, Phehlukwayo. I'm with you guys in dropping Miller.
Flash, Pretorius should never be part of any cricket debate.....tx. We are talking WC not the family and friends knockabout in between the braai at the local park.
I think there's a group of world class standard in KG, Dale, Ngidi, Markram, Quinton, Faf and the underrated Tahir. Van Der Dussen has shown remarkable maturity and could add value. Ngidi is a must for every important game. We'll only know after the WC what value Faf's captaincy brought to the team's success, I suspect it's going to be a factor.
If what I've seen of the wickets in the current England vs Pakistan's series is anything to go by then fronting with 3 quicks is a no brainer. There's nice variety amongst our quicks and our attack without a doubt is up there with the best in the world and having a West Indian coach will enhance their performance. Tahir fortifies the attack.
Now if only we had AB360.
"..... an explosive implosive middle order"
The more likely team is closer to the above selected by 'Flash with one adjustment.
Sorry mate you've lost me, if you referring to this one then nope, I disagree....
Denny, a long tail means that there are too many bowlers that cant bat very well.
So I tend to disagree...
Having 8,9,10 and 11 who can barely get 20 runs between them (though Rabada has scored some handy runs recently), means that our tail is long.
With your lineup, effectivly, we run out of batsman after Phehlukwayo.... hence id opt for an extra batsman.
Amla played in only fie ODI's this year and failed in all five - he made reasonable runs in 2 of the five ODI's - but the Proteas lost because of a decline in his strike rate. In the three ODI's he failed the Proteas won the games.
Amla had zero game time - even on provincial level - since January and in view of his failure in ODI;s spanning more than a year - his selection for the squad was dubious, The Amla problem remains, but there are two warm-up games - the one on Friday and the other on Sunday, He should play in both and if he fails in those he should not be trusted to play in any game in the WC.
The two warm-up matches will be on DSTV and I will report back on same.
@ 'Flash
I don't share your faith in Pretorius, that's where we differ. I understand where you're coming from but that fella would give away twice as many runs when he bowls as when he bats. You're stereotyping a tail that wags based on a useful allrounder like a Klusener.....well he isn't a Klusener like allrounder. His bowling is pathetic and his batting isn't to be relied upon. With Steyn's fitness increasingly doubtful I can see him playing but that would be under sufferance not by ideal choice.
I'm not getting my hopes up but it is great to see Amla batting with confidence and Andile adding substance to the role of allrounder. Markrams underachieving is a concern. Shamsi, as I've always maintained, is useless. Rabada needs to tighten up and Ngidi is going to be the star of the attack.