Preview Cricket World Cup

https://thespinoff.co.nz/sports/18-05-2019/form-guide-who-will-win-the-cricket-world-cup/

our hopes pinned on Quinton de Kock ? .... lmao

There is nothing wrong with De Kock - he is a class batsman - better thamn Graeme Smith ever was in ODI's.

The question remains about consistency,   De Kock was the third highest run scorer in the recent IPL series and was a matchwinner to boot.   That means there is the required consistency,  De Kocj is not the problem - the rest of the batting line-up is.   I hope Markram is in the starting line-up - for the rest I have my doubts,

As to Amla and Steyn the fact is both are over-the-hill and should not have been  in the squad.   The loss of Nortje is a major problem from a bowling perspective.

I am not so desperate and think that the Proteas will be in the top 4 on the log.    

QdK is a game changer...as is AB...we should have had both.

I agree with most of what's been said, I disagree with Steyn being over the hill or AB360 being a prima donna. If there's swing about then Dale becomes a serious player and yes Mike it's pretty damn sad about Nortje. 

Just a couple of things I'll  add.....when the Proteas were out here earlier this year Shane Warne remarked that they were a good side going into the WC and that they could win it. Mark Waugh responded with "South Africa's always had a good side going into the WC." True and I have to disagree with Warne and say the current side is the worst going into the WC. But you know, cricket is a funny game and that's where I'm pinning my hopes.

Just for a moment let's ignore all of the above barring cricket being a funny game, for the Proteas to win they need to score a minimum of 350 runs against all of the good sides.....the question is, can they?

Chippo mate, forget all the variables and "ifs".....here's the thing, the key to winning the WC is simple, score 350+,  our attack will do the business. I have absolute faith in Otis Gibson as our bowling coach. The question is as I've said....can we? 

Maybe I was just touchy about De Kock because he was under constant attack by some of our members for at least five years now.   

The problem is that De Kock has become under virtual constant pressure because his batting partner Amla went sour over the past year,   If tat was Amla's only problem it would not have been as bad as it is at present - his fielding became even a worse problem. 

If there is indeed a problem with De Kock it is his tendency to start hitting out at every ball bowled at him to make sure a reasonable batting score is attained - especialy when his partners fail to maintain a reasonable strike rate,   

So who should his partners be?   Van der Dussen played in England for a season and came back a different player from what he used to be with a top class batting record,   Markram was in England playing club cricket for a few months and performed excellently under those conditions.   I would say that they should bat as follows:-

1   De Kock

2   Markram

3   Van der Dussen

4   Du Plessis

5   Miller

6   Duminy

To get to a score of 360+ there is the need for hitting plenty of sixes and fours.   The sixes is of particular importance in the  later stages of games when the field is spread out and fours become more difficult.   That is where AB was so good - but he is gone and will not be back to play any ODI's.   Playing for Bengalore in the IPL he was 50:50 in performance - had been successful in about 4 games and failed in the rest.   That was one reason why Bengalore ended up on the bottom of the  IPL log.

Now back to the Proteas.   I believe that Markram and Van der Dussen gained valuable experience playing in England conditions and being the attacking players they in fact are may be to the advantage of the Proteas. 

In other words - if we have a player whith a good strikle rate opening with De Kock there is a good chance that there would be less pressure on De Kock and that could help in getting the Proteas over the line.

As stated above New Zealand was remarkably successful playing SA in WC matches but then we have to bear in mind that in both play-off matches in 2011 and 2015 Amla failed badly and Smith failed as well in 2011.  The 2015 failure had more to do with playing an unfit Philander than it had to do with failure in batting.

Be it as it may I think that the Proteas will do better playing on Engalnd pitches than they did playing in India and New Zealand.                        

Denny

IF our bowlers fire, we won't need to score 350 to win in most games.

I agree England are phenominal at the moment, but I dont see many teams scoring 350 against Rabada, Steyn and Tahir.

Well that's the thinking but I believe it's not going to work that way especially if the Protea's bat first. Bowling accuracy is going to prove critical on slow flat wickets and anything short or wide is going to land in the car park. From what I've seen so far the wickets are batting friendly. 

Oops, sorry for the longggggg delay for my remark on Quinton de Kock. I said that purely because I believe early in his career some reports said that he prefers softer (slower?) wickets - like those that are found on the Indian continent. Many wickets in the UK are nowadays prepared  with very hard surfaces, thus not very advantageous for QdK.

Hope I am wrong, but I am not very hopeful.