The following from the media:-
The Proteas face
Pakistan in a three-match ODI series starting on Friday in Centurion. IOL
Sport's Zaahier Adams takes a look at five Proteas to keep an eye on during the
series
Temba Bavuma
The Pakistan series will be Bavuma's first assignment as
national limited-overs skipper. All eyes will be focused on the diminutive
batsman in terms of he leads the team. Although major changes will take time,
there is great anticipation in regards to the style of cricket the Proteas will
adopt under Bavuma. Equally, the focus will be even more on his batting form
now to see whether he can handle the responsibility of leading the team and
fulfill his role as a senior batsman in the team.
Quinton
de Kock
"Quinny" will only be around for the first two matches
before he jets off to India to help the Mumbai Indians defend their IPL crown.
Having endured a wretched run of form of late, De Kock will be looking to get
amongst the runs again now that the burden of captaining has been lifted off
his shoulders. Proteas fans will hope that they see the return of the
free-spirted care-free De Kock and not a player that is going to sulk because
he has been replaced at the helm.
Aiden
Markram
The Titans star returns to the Proteas limited-overs set up for
the first time since the disastrous 2019 World Cup. Everyone is aware of
Markram's supreme talent and he showed it oncr again in the 4-Day Domestic
Series with a bucketfull of runs. However, the time is fast approaching that he
starts delivering on this immense potential on the international stage for he
is a much better player that his current ODI average of 27 suggests.
Andile Phehlukwayo
There was a period that everything Phehlukwayo touched turned to
gold, but the Midas touch has eluded him in recent months. A social butterfly
by nature, the bio-secure environments that international cricket is currently
being played in due to Covid-19 has not been kind to Phehlukwayo and his
performances out in the park have suffered. That's not forgetting that he was
among the first Proteas to self-isolate at the beginning of the season.
Phehlukwayo has already lost his place in the T20I squad for the Pakistan
series. He needs a couple of big performances with both bat and ball to remind
everyone of his undoubted quality, especially with Wiaan Mulder breathing down
his neck now.
Rassie
van der Dussen
South Africa's "Mr Consistency" over a period where
many things have gone wrong, Van der Dussen has often been the calming
influence in the Proteas dressing room. However, for everything that he has
done well, there is still a major obstacle that he has to overcome in
international cricket. Van der Dussen has still not scored a century in any
format for South Africa despite coming close on more than one occasion. He
desperately wants that three-figure score and hopefully it comes in this
Pakistan series because it may just open the tap to many more.
Comments
Of the five players mentioned three have one thing in common - they are lucky they play cricket in SA. In no other country in the world players like Bavuma, Phehlukwayo and Van der Dussen would be in the national team - their performances are just too poor to qualify for selection. It is obvious - two are quota players - Van der Dussen has an embarrassing low average in ODI's so why is he still in the squad?
Anyway - the team to play on Friday is guaranteed to not be the strongest team to represent SA.