A Future Without Pollock

For South African cricket fans a future without Shaun Pollock is one that fills many with dread. For a decade the red headed open bowler, and lower order batsman, has been the spearhead of the South African attack, as a strike bowler when he first came into the team, and as a miserly economic bowler, as the years have lessened his pace. The reality is that Pollock, as much as many would like to see, can go on forever, and the South African hierarchy have decided that this season will be used to assess Pollocks airs.

Pollock has responded to calls for his retirement time and time again, with wickets, a match winning economic spell, or some wonderful stroke play with the bat, yet even he knows that the time will soon come when he wont be the man called upon with either bat or ball by the South African captain. Pollock, who underwent minor foot surgery recently, has been left out of the squad that is playing in Ireland against the hosts and India. During the recent Afro/Asia series Pollock travelled as a batsman only, not bowling a single ball, and showed enough form and style to suggest that he could fashion a new role for himself in the team, as a batsman who bowls rather then as a bowler who bats. He scored his maiden ODI century and scored another undefeated 50 in the three match series. With Pollock resting back home in Durban, the South African selectors have called upon Cape Cobra's young all rounder Vernon Philander to make his debut in place of Polly. Indeed coach MickeyArthur made no secret of the plans to blood Pollocks successor over the coming season

"We need succession planning in key areas to ensure we have a pool
ofplayers who can play at this level. A guy like Shaun Pollock has given us
yeomanservice, but he needs to be managed through this season and a couple of
othersenior players do too," Arthur said.

"We've identified Vernon Philander as a possible back-up as anall-rounder,
along with Albie Morkel, who played in the Afro/Asia Cup, and RyanMcLaren and
Johan van der Wath, who I've been keeping an eye on in countycricket."

The interesting aspect of these comments is that they see Pollocks replacement as being an all rounder, rather then as an opening bowler. While Pollock is a genuine all rounder, and maybe should have been used higher up the batting order throughout his career, something he would have preferred, his role in the team in both test and ODI cricket has been primarily as an opening bowler. Yet the selectors tend to talk of Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn as the future opening bowlers and Philander, Albie Morkel, McLaren and van der Wath, as Pollocks successor. This clearly shows that although Polly has rarely been used up the order, they realise that his batting brings a balance to the lineup that would be missing if he were to be replaced by a bowler.

The idea to give these all rounders increased exposure so as not to have to start from the beginning when they eventually take over has merit so long as the selectors don't pigeon hole these players as Pollys replacement and exclude them for other jobs. A guy like Johan van der Wath could do a job as an opening bowler or first change, he swings the ball both ways, and as a devastating middle or lower order batsman, and should perhaps be in the team right now, alongside Polly. He is the man who should have come into the side when Klusner was left out and has been over looked for the last year. While there is potential in the other players, having them all compete for one place, and pushing someone like van der Wath down the pecking order, giving him limited exposure as they rotate these players, may be to the detriment of South African cricket.

The fact that, post World Cup, the selectors have an eye on the future, and wont be waiting until their hand is forced, suggests that South African cricket is looking forward, and while this can only benefit the team in the long run, lets hope the Pollock has a few more years left in him yet. South Africa's star all rounder is far from finished.

New Faces in Proteas Squad

With South Africa embarking on a short ODI series in Ireland, where they will play one match against the hosts and three against India, the selectors having given a few fringe and up and coming players the chance to stake a claim for a place in the squad for the forth coming season. The squad sees Jacques Kallis lead a team without captain Graeme Smith, and all rounder Shaun Pollock, both are being rested, and sees five players called up who did not travel to the Caribbean for the World Cup. The new faces are; Morne Van Wyk, JP Duminy, Vernon Philander, Thandi Tshabalala and Dale Steyn.

A brief introduction follows of the new faces for those unfamiliar with South African cricket.

Morne van Wky

Morne opens the batting for his franchise team, the Eagles, in all forms of the game, but can operate anywhere in the top or middle order. He is a wicket keeper batsman, but whereas Boucher would be classed as a keeper who can bat, van Wyk would be a batsman who can keep. It is likely that, like AB de Villiers, another wicket keeper batsman, he will play as a batsman in this series, and will more than likely open the batting with de Villiers. He has played for South Africa before in an ODI, on the tour of England in 2003 he made his debut in the triangular series final, where South Africa were well beaten by England. Morne has a first class batting average of 39,15 with a top score of 200 not out, and a domestic limited overs average of 41,99 with a top score of 160 not out. van Wyk was recently named MTN Domestic Championship Cricketer of the Year, Standard Bank Pro20 Cricketer of the Year, and Domestic Players Player of the Year and the 2007 Mutual and Federal SA Cricket Awards evening.

JP Duminy

Duminy is a stylish top order batsman who has long been heralded as the future of South African batting. He has played 8 ODI's for South Africa with little success thus far, but much of his initial matches found him batting at number 8 or 9. He has a ODI average of 24 with a top score of 60. He bowls occasional off spin too, and has taken a ODI wicket. His first class record sees him with an impressive average of 50,86 and a top score of 169. Duminy has the potential and class to be a mainstay in the South African batting line up in both ODI and Test teams of the near future. His maturity belies his tender age and many will hope that this is the season when he takes the step up from promising player to established star. Duminy plays his domestic cricket in Cape Town for the Cobras. JP will join an Emerging players team for a series in Australia in July.

Vernon Philander

Duminy's Cape Cobra's team-mate, Vernon Philander, gets his first call up to the South African ODI team. Philander is an all rounder who really came to prominence with some fine displays with both bat and ball in the recent domestic season. Along with Johan van der Wath and Albie Morkel, Philander is seen as one of the potential successors to Shaun Pollock, when the ever green star all rounder decides to pack it in. Philander generally bowls at first change, but can open the bowling, while his batting is particularly effective in the middle order, but would not be out of place in the top order either. He is a particularly effective closer of an innings with the ability to find the boundaries and hit the ball far and hard. He has a first class average of 26,15 with the bat and a top score of 168, while his bowling average is an impressive 24,19 with 5/49 being his best. Philander. Vernon will be part of the Emerging team that heads to Australia in July.

Dale Steyn

Steyn is perhaps the best known of the new faces in the ODI squad due to his test exploits last season. A genuinely quick bowler, Steyn will add variety and aggression to an attack that was seen as predictable during the World Cup. Although far from the finished article the selectors will be hoping that he has the same impact that Malinga and Tait had during the World Cup, with a role as a strike bowler being earmarked, rather than a containing bowler. His job will be to take wickets, to strike early and to break partnerships. Steyn has played 11 Tests for South Africa, but has be unable to force his way into the ODI set up, only playing 4 ODI's. He has been picked for this series for his pace and South Africa will be counting on the added explosiveness to complement their reliable attack. Steyn is currently enjoying a spell at Warwickshire which should help to add to his experience and development. Steyn should be a regular in the Test team for the current and future seasons but will be hoping to break into the ODI team too. Should see the recent performances of Morne Morkel for the African team in the Afro Asia series as a spur to enhance his performances, with Morkel waiting to claim a place too.

Thandi Tshabalala

Tshabalala is the player that the public having been crying out to be included in the national team for over a season now. The young finger spinner is the fresh hope of a nation in need of a spinner for both the long and short version of the game. The public, and even the national team, have had little confidence in the spinners who have tried their luck for SA in the recent past. Tshabalala, although still young and inexperienced, is the player who hopes to change the nations fortunes, in terms of a quality spinner. He first came to the attention of those in South Africa 2 seasons ago in the Pro20 series. In a format that has been pretty severe on spin bowlers Tshabalala excelled, taking his record this season to 31 wickets in 23 games at an average of 14,35 and a strike rate of a wicket every 13,19 balls. His domestic limited over record sees him with an average of 27,42 and an economy rate of 4,65, very respectable figures and the bases for calls for his inclusion. The selectors have been wary to rush him into the tame, with the expectation on such young shoulders the fear is that a few bad performances against world class batsman could hinder his development rather than quicken it. The idea was to give him a few more seasons of domestic cricket to allow him to understand his game more and the role he has to play. The short series in Ireland was seen as an ideal time to give him exposure to international cricket without thrusting to much responsibility his way. As the only spinner in the squad Tshabalala seems guaranteed to make his ODI debut during the series. Tshabalala will join Duminy and Philander in the Emerging players tour to Australia

Fixtures

Sat 23 June Ireland v IndiaSun 24 June Ireland v SATue 26 June SA v IndiaFri 29 June SA v IndiaSun 1 July SA v India

Trevor Bayliss Appointed as New Sri Lanka Cricket Coach

After a final interview held last evening at the Sri lanka Cricket headquarters in Colombo, the board decided to recruit former New South Wales coach Trevor Bayliss as next cricket coach of Sri Lanka cricket team. Bayliss will become the 5th Australian to coach a Sri Lanka team, after Dave Whatmore, Bruce Yardley, John Dyson and Tom Moody.

"Trevor came before a high powered committee comprising Aravinda de Silva, Sidath Wettimuny, Michael Tissera, Anura Tennekoon and Duleep Mendis, who were very impressed with his presentation," said Mr. Uplai Dharmadasa, the chairman of the interim commitee of Sri Lanka cricket, in a media briefing.

Bayliss was one of the names suggested to SLC for the position by Moody. The others included Terry Oliver, the Queensland coach, who was also a strong contender. He was interviewed a fortnight ago.

Testing un explored talent, was always been the success behind Sri Lanka cricket. When Dave Whatmore became the Sri Lankan coach, his name was never recognized in the Cricketing world. Tom Moody was never a "brilliant" cricketer, through out his career, and hardly secured a place in the team in many occasions. But, he left Sri Lanka with a reputation for being one of the most successful coaches in the world.

That's why, in one of my earlier blog posts I highlighted it's always good for Sri Lanka cricket to look for some new names from Australia, rather than looking for established international coaches like John Wright or Dave Whatmore.

Speaking to a local TV channel, Bayliss said "There's nothing much to change in present Sri Lanka change". How ever he mentioned that, he'll not hesitate to do some changes, if required. According to Sri Lanka Cricket, Bayliss will start working with Sri Lanka team starting from this August.

Ford Says No To India

In another embarrassing blow to Indian cricket, Graham Ford, the former South African national coach, has turned down the offer of coaching the Indian national team in favour of remaining at Kent. It had been widely reported over the weekend that Ford had accepted the Indian job.

The final decision over who would take on the job was decided last week after presentations by the two candidates, Ford, and Englishman John Emburey, when it was decided that Ford was the man for the job. It is believed that Ford is the man that the players were in favour of, and that they, lead by captain Rahul Dravid, had been involved in getting Fords name high up the BCCI list of candidates. Form, a former coach of the South African national team as well as South African domestic side, the Dolphins, is believed to have come highly respected by former and current players including Jonty Rhodes, Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusner, all of whom played under Ford for both the Dolphins and South Africa. Ford was seen as being instrumental in bringing through the young Pollock, Klusner, Neil Johnson and Dale Benkenstein, in his Dolphins days, in a team that also included Rhodes, Andrew Hudson, Errol Stewart and the late Malcolm Marshall. He was in charge of the South African A team, captained by Benkenstein, before being named as Bob Woolmers assistant in the Protea's team. He replaced Woolmer after the '99 World Cup, and went on to win 9 out of 11 Test series during his spell in charge. It is felt in South Africa that there were political rather then cricketing reasons for his axing after a home and away series loss to Australia.

Ford was seen as the ideal replacement to the outspoken, disciplinarian, Greg Chappel, with his calm, understated style. He is widely regarded in both South Africa and England as one of the most astute, tactical coaches in the game, and it is clear to see why he was pursued by the BCCI. Whether they now decide to go with Emburey, or make a short term placement and begin the process again, is yet to be announced. After the reports that Ford had taken the job, and now the news that he has turned it down, the BCCI would like to ensure that this embarrassing situation is not repeated in the future.

"A Different Stroke" Blog Competition - June July 2007

Here's your chance to win a copy of "The Official 2007 Cricket World Cup Review (DVD)" absolutely free! All you have to do is take part in "ADS Blog & Win!" competition for June & July.

Next three months, all international cricket teams are in full action after a short break since the world cup, so we got plenty of action from all over the world to talk here!

Let's get straight to the business. This is no joke or no scam. You will never (ever) have to pay anything, or have to buy anything from anyone to redeem the gift. Once you win it, it's all yours!

How to enter the competition?

Register on this site as a contributor, and just keep on blogging. Then you will automatically qualify for the competition, based on the rules mentioned below. (To register as a contrubutor, send an e-mail to cricketbloggers@gmail.com requesting the membership of this site)


Rules for the competition

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Example: If John Doe make 20 comments on your post, you'll get 2 points for the unique reader John Doe, and 20 points for the comments he made, making it 22 points in total.

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12) The competition is valid for posts made from 1st June to 31st July. At the end of July, site administrator(s) will count the points, based on the above competition rules and will decide the winner. Time to time, the latest standings of points table will be announced on the site.

13) There should be at least 15 contributors taking part in the competition, and they should have contributed at least 100 posts in total, at the end of competition period. If this condition is not satisfied, the competition will be extended to another month, (for the same gifts) until this condition is satisfied.

The winner will be announced before 15th of August. Site administrator(s) will contact the winners by e-mails, to arrange the delivery of the gift(s).

Few Tips to Take some advantage in the competition


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Hope this is clear enough. Write to cricketbloggers@gmail.com at any time, to clarify anything unclear.

Depending on the success in responses from you all, the prices will be increased next time, and winners will be selected every month! So, give your 100% to get this going. Who knows, the next price would be a free ticket to watch a live cricket match, at any venue you wish!

Kallis to Captain in Ireland

Jacques Kallis will captain the South African cricket team on their forthcoming series in Ireland, where they will play one match against the hosts and three against India. There are five players in the 14 man squad who did not travel to the Caribbean for the recently finished World Cup. Captain Graeme Smith and all rounder Shaun Pollock have both been rested after recent surgeries.

The changes to the squad are designed to give some players exposure to International cricket, to assess options, and to increase the pool of international players in the South African set up. There are two new caps in the squad, Eagles young spinner Thandi Tshabalala and Cobra's all rounder Vernon Philander. Cobra's batsman JP Duminy, Eagles wicket keeper/batsman Morne Van Wyk and Titans fast bowler Dale Steyn all return to the ODI team.

Van Wyk, who was the form batsman in the domestic four day, limited over and 20/20 cricket, is likely to play as a batsman rather than as Mark Bouchers deputy behind the stumps. He is able to bat anywhere in the top or middle order but generally opens the batting, particularly in limited over cricket. Van Wyk was the domestic player of the season in both forms of the game and there have been calls for his inclusion for a few years now. JP Duminy is a talented batsman who is held in high regard by many in the South African cricketing community and has played a few ODI games before but has never been given a sustained run in the team. His Cobras team mate, Vernon Philander, has shown good form and potential over the last few seasons with both bat and ball and earns his first call up on these grounds. The selection of the two new bowlers is particularly interesting. Steyn comes in for his raw pace and aggression. While there was a move to pigeon hole a player like Steyn as a Test bowler, with the idea that he may leak runs in ODI cricket with wayward bowling and field settings that would not protect him, the recent World Cup highlighted South Africa's lack of variation as well as the performances of strike bowlers like Shaun Tait for Australia, Lasith Malinga for Sri Lanka, and Shane Bond of New Zealand, showed that there is a place for such bolwers in ODI cricket. His performances will be keenly watched. Tshabalala's inclusion is one that has been called for by the South African public for a year or so now. The young off spinner, who's action is modeled on that of Harbajahn Singh's, is seen as the hope and future of South African spin bowling. There is a feeling that although his inclusion will be welcomed for such a series, the selectors don't want to rush him into international cricket until they are certain he is ready for the step up. They are reluctant to rush him into the fold and risk him being found wanting, his confidence taking a dive, and his development a step backward. As he is the sole spinner in the squad it seems certain that he will play rather then just gain experience as a touring member.

There are still no places in the squad for Johan van der Waath and brothers Albie and Morne Morkel, the later two who are currently in India with the African team for the Afro-Asia series.The players who were part of the World Cup squad but have not been included, apart from the rested Smith and Pollock, are Ashwell Prince, Roger Telemachus and Robin Peterson.

Squad :Jacques Kallis (capt), Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Thandi Tshabalala, Morne van Wyk

First Donald, Now Jonty?

Following fresh from the news that South African fast bowling legend, Alan Donald, was to be appointed as England's bowling consultant, comes the news that England are to approach another South African cricket legend, Jonty Rhodes, to be their fielding coach.

Donald is to join England on a 5 week consultancy basis, during the remainder of the West Indies series, and will then have his situation reassessed, and could be given the job full time. It now seems that new England coach, Peter Moores, is to move quickly in offering Jonty Rhodes the post as fielding coach. This would see Rhodes join the new coaching team of Moore's, former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower as his number 2, and Alan Donald as the bowling coach. Showing that Moore's wants the best men for the job and not necessarily the best English man.

The first man approached for the job as fielding coach was Trever Penney, who had worked with England in the past, but he turned the job down and took up a position with Western Australia. Rhodes, who had been working with the South African team, was only contracted up until the World Cup, and as he has not been offered, or asked for, a new contract from South Africa, Moores has identified him as the man for England.

Unless South Africa take these reports as a warning and tie down their man to a new contract, they could again lose one of their best assets to another international team. Although always seen as one of the best fielding teams in the world, Rhodes has been credited with lifting the bar again as South Africa have enjoyed fantastic fielding performances during the duration of his work with them.

Aussie crowds embarrass Moody

Tom Moody, the former Sri Lanka coach, said he was embarrassed by the derogatory reaction and negative attention directed towards Muttiah Muralitharan by Australian crowds. Muralitharan's unorthodox bowling action came under scrutiny in Australia, where he was no-balled for a suspect action on two tours.

The treatment meted out by the crowds in reaction to these on-field episodes prompted him to boycott Sri Lanka's 2004 tour to Australia. John Howard, the Australian prime minister, joined the clamour by labelling Muralitharan a "chucker".

"As an Australian when I have been with the Sri Lankan team in Australia, or playing against them in the World Cup, it's the only situation we find in the whole of the cricketing world where we have this disgraceful slant on a cricketer," Moody told The Australian.

"My take on it, and I hope I'm right, and I've shared this with Murali, is that it's Australia's nature to show that response in a way of respect and acknowledgement of someone who is pretty special and unique".

Moody, who has taken up a coaching role with Western Australia, puts this attitude down to the competition between Muralitharan and Shane Warne, who finished his career as the world's leading wicket-taker with 708 Test victims. Muralitharan is second in the all-time list with 674 dismissals.

"They're protecting their own," Moody said. "Australia has produced the greatest legspinner of all time and Australians are very proud of that. There's that constant comparison between Warne and Murali, but I just think you cannot even begin to try and compare the two."

Muralitharan was first no-balled by Darrell Hair in the 1995 Boxing Day Test and Ross Emerson also called him in an ODI at Adelaide four years later. When the Sri Lankans walked off the field after the second incident, only an intervention by the respective boards and the ICC saved the tour.

Muralitharan's action was subsequently cleared under the ICC's 15-degree rule. He has toured Australia since his 2004 boycott and looks set to visit Australia again in November for a two-Test series.

Ford For India?

Graham Ford has entered the race to be the next coach of the Indian cricket team. Ford previously coached South Africa, as well as working in South African domestic and English county cricket.

With Dav Whatmore being the only name mentioned it was widely believed that he would be named as coach in the coming weeks, however it has not been suggested that Graham Ford has entered the fray. It is believed that the Indian players initiated communication to try get the best man for the job, and with John Wright and Tim Moody already committed to jobs in Australia, the players began talking to other players and former players within the game. The name of Ford figured at the top of many peoples lists, and he received glowing recommendations from the likes of Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusner and Jonty Rhodes, all of whom worked with Ford at domestic and international level.

Ford gained prominence when he lead a young Natal team to the domestic double in South Africa during the 96-97 season. He helped bring through the likes of Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusner, Dale Benkenstein and Neil Johnson as well as working with Malcolm Marshall and Clive Rice. After leading a couple of South African A tours he was named as assistant to Bob Woolmer for the national team, before taking over the post after the 99 World Cup. South Africa won 9 of the 11 series he was in charge for before is axing after a disastrous tour of Australia, where it was felt that he paid the price for internal power games within South African cricket. Ford is widely acknowledged within the South African game as one of the most knowledgeable and tactically astute coaches in the game.

Woolmer Was Not Murdered?

In what will be an embarrassing u-turn by Jamaican police authorities reports coming from British newspapers suggest that they will soon announce that Bob Woolmer was not murdered, but died of natural causes.

Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room the day after the Pakistan team he coached had lost to Ireland in a World Cup group match in March, effectively knocking the former World Cup winners out, and allowing the Irish, first timers at the global event, and made up primarily by part timers, to progress through to the Super 8 phase. With rumours of a sinister cause of death leading the front pages of many newspapers, the Jamaican police announced that after a post mortem they were now treating the death as murder. Suggestions that Woolmer was killed by an under ground match fixing mafia, by radical Muslim fans, and even suggestions that his own players were involved began to do the rounds.

With the case stretching for weeks and then months with no new leads the theory that Woolmer had died of natural causes began to gain momentum. An investigation by a UK Home Office pathologist who flew to Jamaica to help seems to have been the route of the change in direction of the case. It now seems that Woolmer died of heart failure caused by chronic ill health and possibly diabetes. Woolmer was not in good health and the stress of the failure of his much hyped team, and the possible reactions and reprecautions, may have played a hand in his death.
The results of a 3rd pathology report should be known soon, but are expected to back up those of the 2nd report, that Woolmer was not murdered, but died of natural causes. The broken bone in his neck, which was behind many suggestions that he had been strangled, is now believed to have been caused by his fall.

While speculation and rumour have lead this case more than any really facts or leads, the news that Woolmer died from natural causes, and not at the hand of any sinister element, must come as a relief to both his family and loved ones, and to the cricketing world in general. However, after all that has gone on before, they will only truly be able to move on once the speculation becomes fact. Hopefully the coming weeks will give them the peace they crave.