South Africa team selection

[Marius]

I don't think that Verreynne will replicate this sort of a hundred in Australia, but who would we rather have as wicketkeeper at the moment? He does have a Test hundred and he is on the younger side.

I'm just making an old grappie. But yes, he is probably the right guy for the job at the moment, Rickelton can push for the keeper spot in time.

Heard some more on Ricks, apparently he's needed an ankle op for yonks but has been putting it off because he wanted to break into the SA side and the selectors aren't willing to risk him in Aus.

 

[Marius]

de Zorzi got a good 160+ in that game as well.
And note Elgar got a 130 and Klaasen scored some runs.

Klaasen out for 292, by my reckoning fifth highest score in the Currie Cup/Supersport Series/4-day Franchise Series.

 

[Stefan9]

Mulder made a 100 first innings and the crocked rickelton kept and made a 100 in the second innings...

 

[Everton Seymour]

Gerald Coetzee 0/147 in 22 overs for the Knights ... Ouch!

 

[Rasimione]

I watched it, and Rassie described some of the measures he put in place, which clearly have worked. It doesn't happen every match, but the Springboks can easily field a side with more than 50% of the players not white with every single player's selection being justified on rugby ability alone.

So cricket needs someone to come in and do things like that. I think they were hoping Graeme Smith could do that, but he didn't have the best relationship with the board and he also fell into the old boys club trap with his appointment of Boucher. Whether Enoch Nkwe is the right man for the job and whether he'll get the backing he needs remains to be seen, but it's shocking that cricket has lagged so far behind rugby when it's the latter that you would have thought would have had the harder time transforming.

Rassie Erasmus is a man of honour and integrity. Smith showed his view on the issue of racial inequality by his selection of Boucher. Whatever little faith black People had in him disintegrated. It didn't help that Boucher is not the sort of person thats all about inclusion. Cricket needs a Rassie Erasmus type leader. Even that might not be enough

So long as there's a lack of black batsmen, we'll be talking about transformation for years.

 

[Rasimione]

Jos

Elgar's home - away split is pretty poor, but this seems way too far. He's averaged 38 opening the batting in some of the most hostile conditions for batting that we've ever seen (atleast between 2015 and 2020). Most teams would kill for an opener of that quality, and it's not like there's a ton of gun domestic openers running around who could fill his spot.

Joshua Richards and Grant Roelfosen are good enough. I reckon Jordan Hermann might be pushing in the next year. De Zorzi is also liked by some, but I'm not sold. There are players, unfortunately Victor Mpitsang is incompetent and it's showed with the piss poor selections we've been subjected to.

 

[StephenZA]

So Stuurman is injured and they pick Lizaad Williams as a replacement... Neither are likely to play in the front of the 4 pace bowler selections, and we leave a player like Sipamla at home rather than him touring Aus and getting a feel for the place and the enviroment. Neither Stuurman or Williams is the future of cricket in SA...

Stuurman ruled out of Proteas tour to Australia, Williams called up as reinforcement | Sport

The Proteas have called up fast bowler Lizaad Williams after an injury to Glenton Stuurman ahead of South Africa's Test tour to Australia.

www.news24.com

 

[Dendarii]

It's the new selection policy of relying on the bowlers for runs. Stuurman and Williams bat better than Sipamla, which is why they were picked...

Sipamla's a bit like Mulder in that every once in a while they remember that they've actually got this promising player who should be in the mix, who then briefly comes into the team/squad but once the series is over gets ignored for ages.

 

[Marius]

So Stuurman is injured and they pick Lizaad Williams as a replacement... Neither are likely to play in the front of the 4 pace bowler selections, and we leave a player like Sipamla at home rather than him touring Aus and getting a feel for the place and the enviroment. Neither Stuurman or Williams is the future of cricket in SA...

Stuurman ruled out of Proteas tour to Australia, Williams called up as reinforcement | Sport

The Proteas have called up fast bowler Lizaad Williams after an injury to Glenton Stuurman ahead of South Africa's Test tour to Australia.

www.news24.com

if they not going to play anyway, then not better to leave Sipamla in SA where he'll get game time for the Lions, rather than carrying drinks in Aus?

 

[StephenZA]

if they not going to play anyway, then not better to leave Sipamla in SA where he'll get game time for the Lions, rather than carrying drinks in Aus?

It depends… there is one 4-day game left. Will he get better exposure being with Lions playing local 50 overs or is it better to be getting advice from the best players local and international. While also getting exposure to foreign conditions? It’s not straight forward but in this case I would rather see him in Aus.

 

[Marius]

It's the new selection policy of relying on the bowlers for runs. Stuurman and Williams bat better than Sipamla, which is why they were picked...

Sipamla's a bit like Mulder in that every once in a while they remember that they've actually got this promising player who should be in the mix, who then briefly comes into the team/squad but once the series is over gets ignored for ages.

Were they picked over Sipamla on their batting? They all seem pretty much at the same level in the pecking order and Williams played a Test more recently than Sipamla.

And perhaps there is an issue we don't know about, like Rickelton's ankle. perhaps, as I say above, it was thought rather give him game time in SA, when he's unlikely to play in Aus anyway.

 

[Socerer 01]

Were they picked over Sipamla on their batting? They all seem pretty much at the same level in the pecking order and Williams played a Test more recently than Sipamla.

And perhaps there is an issue we don't know about, like Rickelton's ankle. perhaps, as I say above, it was thought rather give him game time in SA, when he's unlikely to play in Aus anyway.

isn’t Rickelton’s injury a meme? Didn’t he score a century, bat at 4, keep wickets and also take a diving catch despite that injury?

 

[Marius]

isn’t Rickelton’s injury a meme? Didn’t he score a century, bat at 4, keep wickets and also take a diving catch despite that injury?

Backstory is he's had the injury for a while and he should have surgery on it ages ago, but didn't want to take time out from the game. CSA doesn't want to risk taking him to Aus where he could breakdown, so I guess they're trying to be hardasses.

 

[Bahseph]

Backstory is he's had the injury for a while and he should have surgery on it ages ago, but didn't want to take time out from the game. CSA doesn't want to risk taking him to Aus where he could breakdown, so I guess they're trying to be hardasses.

I don't trust CSA but I don't think there is a conspiracy here with regards to Rickelton. They backed him to come into the team in a must win against England so I think there is confidence in him. Perhaps he doesn't want to get the surgery any time soon because of the SA20 competition? I assume he is picked. It's a big pay cheque for a non IPL player.

 

[Bahseph]

I really rate Sipamla and I think he is just behind Rabada,Ngidi,Nortje and Jansen to me. I don't mind Williams but I don't think he will be that much of a threat in Aus.

 

[Dendarii]

I don't trust CSA but I don't think there is a conspiracy here with regards to Rickelton.

If they didn't want to pick him then they could have come up with another reason (or not said anything at all). They've got no reason to make up a story about an injury, so while it does look odd that he's still playing while seemingly injured, I'm inclined to believe them when they say that's why he wasn't selected.

 

[StephenZA]

Based on current selection policy I would just as readily believe that Elgar did not want him in the team. I have no trust in CSA selection policy at this stage, and firmly believe they are tick boxing things with no plan for the future of SA cricket.

 

[Marius]

If they didn't want to pick him then they could have come up with another reason (or not said anything at all). They've got no reason to make up a story about an injury, so while it does look odd that he's still playing while seemingly injured, I'm inclined to believe them when they say that's why he wasn't selected.

As I say, he is injured and does need an op (apparently). But it's clearly not serious enough to keep him from playing but probably one of those things that if he leaves it could get worse.

 

[Marius]

I don't trust CSA but I don't think there is a conspiracy here with regards to Rickelton. They backed him to come into the team in a must win against England so I think there is confidence in him. Perhaps he doesn't want to get the surgery any time soon because of the SA20 competition? I assume he is picked. It's a big pay cheque for a non IPL player.

Also not sure if he is going to go to Northants again next season, if he is probably not keen to also have the op and possibly miss out on that.

 

[Marius]

De Zorzi gets his second hundred on the trot, looks like @StephenZA's assessment of him at the moment was more accurate than mine. Must be on the selectors' radar for Tests, along with Josh Richards. Jordan Hermann must also be catching the selectors' eye as a potential Test bat.