Protea starting eleven...in the light of another young pop gun flop

Incredible. In spite of Faf's huge innings we lose. We have to get winners in the team for the CWC....mentally strong players.

Let's start with the bowlers....it has to be a core of Steyn, Morkel, Philander and Tahir. Tahir demonstrated again today he can survive a maximum onslaught....Harmer is too inexperienced although promising. The one option would be Marchant for Morkel. But why? I'm convinced Morkel is just as fast and releases the ball from a higher point getting more bounce. De Lange is credible though....Abbot isn't, Rabada isnt.

Let's leave it there and look at the batting. I would start with Amla and Roussow who is technically better than de Kock Faf at 3, AB at 4 are easy picks. So we now have left our number five , six and seven....one of whom should also bowl a few.

At five and six, we could have Duminy, Miller, van Zyl or de Kock. We will probably choose Duminy, Miller and De Kock to keep wicket. But I have more faith in van Zyl than De Kock or Miller if the bowling is sharp. 

For a CWC final it would have to be Amla, Rossouw, du Plessis, AB, Duminy, van Zyl, Robin Peterson, Philander, Steyn, Morkel, Tahir. 

Some of these chaps aren't in the squad....So this is impossible as things stand. But why would Abbott want to humiliate himself more than today....why should the selectors let him?

The hardest choice is Peterson at 7, and he may still be hurt. But we can't rely on Duminy bowling 10 overs if we want a chance to win this one....and Parnell is hopeless.

My WC starting side would be:

1. Amla 2. de Kock 3. Faf 4. AB 5. JP 6. Rossouw 7. Miller 8. Harmer 9. Philander 10. Steyn 11. Morkel

With the following making up the squad.....v/Zyl, de Lange, Tahir, Parnell

Seriously Mike

Do you honestly say that Graeme Smith was worthless to SA or not worth his place in the side?

I hope this is just another one  of your baseless attacks on mozart, because again, this claim lacks all credibility

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My WC starting side would be:

1. Amla 2. de Kock 3. Faf 4. AB 5. JP 6. Rossouw 7. Miller 8. Harmer 9. Philander 10. Steyn 11. Morkel

With the following making up the squad.....v/Zyl, de Lange, Tahir, Parnell

Not a bad side at all Dave, in fact, the more I look at it, the more I really like it

Agreed Denny

Parnell is a liability, as I have said before  

Parnell has his moments, I prefer him to Abbott as he can also bat and provides variety being a left armer.

Would not make my starting side, would be a squad member.

The side is easy to pick really......forget useless pretenders like Robin Petersen, Berhardien, Phasingo etc.......Petersen is no better a spinner than JP, who in my opinion is pretty handy with the ball. He is more than a part time spinner.....he can do the job  

Mike

You cannot even begin to compare the two stats wise or average wise, when De Kock has only played 35 ODI's compared to Smith's 197.

Just as an example, Smith has, as of now, since he retired, scored 4 more test hundreds and 43 more 50's than De Kock.

You cannot justify any comparisons at this stage

The only good thing to come out of the game is that Faf and Miller have maintained their consistency with the bat.

Miller like AB could be a match winner......it's a mental thing with Miller and I really do hope the kid finds what it takes to become a legend during the WC. 

Miller has come good in the last 12 months, he now knows he belongs at the highest level

I want to see him feature in the test squad as well.

Our best young bats are de Kock, Elgar, v/Zyl, Rossouw and Miller......all of them should be involved  

Add RR Hendricks to that group.

Fancy sticking Justin Ontong in the side......how clueless was that!?  

What most of this misses is the fight in the dog. A CWC final is as much about controlling nerves and mental strength in the clutch. The Proteas have a long history of not having mental stability and panicking. I would favour emotionally steady guys where the call is close.

In that light I prefer R Peterson, Tahir, van Zyl and Rossouw  to Duminy(the bowler), De Kock, Miller and the very inexperienced Harmer.

To put the burden on Duminy to have to bowl 10 overs in a CWC final is a sure way to have him flop with bat and ball.

For purposes of planning one has to assume in a CWC final you wont be facing the long hops that a guy like Holder bowled yesterday....but a sharp well directed Aussie pace attack. I just can't see Miller and de Kock meeting that test. Nor can I see Harmer holding up to a rampant batting side.

Again if you don't believe nerves do these guys in, look at Abbott's last over yesterday. Hell, look at the first ball of his last over.

No Moz, Peterson is not good enough to play and therefore should not be considered.

Miller is top of the table in terms of mental toughness......he has proved that in the last 12 months.

JP is a must, one of our best bats and a handy bowler. He is our only real allrounder. He is great at ticking the scoreboard over.   

You guys have watched much more cricket than I have Dave, we have only just recently got an all cricket channel called "Willow".....a marvellous thing! So what I say here may be easily contradicted.....but I don't see Duminy as a player with "bottle". I have seen him play some good innings, but I can't say I think of him as coming through in the clutch.

That said I would pick him as I showed above ....I would simply not rely on him to bowl 10 overs.

As for Miller, the call is close with Rossouw or van Zyl. But again when has he come through at international level.....once in the Aussie series and big time yesterday, but the WI bowling was terrible.

Still I can see the appeal of that big hitting and I wouldn't be against starting  the WC with him at 5 or 6.....but he'd have to produce the goods early.

Don't be an idiot Mike

We all know it's white cheese... not green

JP has struggled to assert himself at test level but has been very good in ODI's over the past 2 years or so. We don't have a class spinner, so JP is our best bet given he is a good bat.

His 10 overs would be no better or worse than Peterson's. Harmer looks good but then again he is only and offie and hardly going to rip sides apart.

Miller has found his feet in the last 12 months, he no longer looks like he is playing for his spot every game. The lad has a hard edge......he is perfect for us at 6 or 7 for man when he hits it, it stays hit.

Tahir is good but can be very expensive when he gets it wrong. He is our best spinner.