Yep - I think he'll step up when Southee goes. I know his Test record is trash, but I don't think it's inconceivable that he could become a decent operator if he wants it.
He's 31 but he debuted at 18, I think that's the qualifier with Southee. Different situation to a 31 year old that debuted at 24. To be fair, he has been very very good in the last 24 months. I just think at some point his body is going to slow down to the point he's no longer effective.
Yeah, it's possible that Henry could become a decent new ball partner to Jamieson or Boult - generally done better in that role than at first change. Wouldn't bank on it, but not out of the realms of possibility.
Yep, that's the only role he's capable of filling, as this suggests:
| 1st position | 2017-2020 | 2 | 4 | 79.0 | 11 | 261 | 7 | 4/93 | 5/113 | 37.28 | 3.30 | 67.7 | 0 | 0 |  |
| 2nd position | 2016-2019 | 5 | 8 | 181.0 | 34 | 483 | 11 | 3/46 | 6/105 | 43.90 | 2.66 | 98.7 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3rd position | 2015-2019 | 5 | 7 | 146.1 | 24 | 570 | 10 | 4/93 | 6/199 | 57.00 | 3.89 | 87.7 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4th position | 2015-2019 | 4 | 4 | 54.0 | 10 | 191 | 2 | 1/49 | 2/107 | 95.50 | 3.53 | 162.0 | 0 | 0 |
Leaving Markram out of the team? Don't think van Tonder should open either. Better at 3/4. I agree with you on Coetzee being a great bowler, but he needs to stay on the park for a couple of years after all these injuries. I hoping we don't have another Dupavillon on our hands. Mulder needs to stay on park as well. I think QDK will keep his gloves. I can also still see Elgar being around.
I see couple of names or three I remember from the under 19 WC in NZ couple of years ago. I'm guessing Van Tonder and Breetzke toured with the 19s side then? Coetzee also rins a bell. What happened to Ntini's lad? Is he in the first class set up? Is he doing all right?
I'm actually not sure how I forgot about Markram.
Van Tonder I put down to open because he opened last season, but he's moved down to three, so maybe his future lies there. And even though I've stated before that De Kock should only give up the gloves if there's someone better as a keeper, I'm not a fan of players captaining and keeper, so I'd rather have someone like Verreynne behind the stumps if De Kock's captain.
Warriors. At least, they're the ones who the top SA players would play for.
He hasn't played too many games, but he's done OK, even if perhaps he's gone better in the shorter version. He's still only 20, so it's far to early to get an idea as to whether he's going to be good enough for higher honours, but it does look like he's got the potential to at least have a decent domestic career on his own terms and not just because he's Makhaya's son.
This is one of the annoying things about South African first class stats. I don't actually know the reasons why they decided to go that route, but it can result in misleading figures as a player can look amazing but that's as a result of playing at a lower level. And unfortunately, most sites don't split the first class stats.
Like all other Human beings , Smith's reflexes will probably slow down with age. Couple slow reflexes with 'shuffling' technique, he will average 30 after turning 35.
I'm sorry but this "smith is all reflexes/hand-eye" talk is horseshit, people said the same thing during the ashes last year and where rightfully shut down. Someone more knowledgeable on the topic than me can explain it further I'm sure.
. But I think these players will be in the team after 3 years if they do not do an UmarAkmal
There's truth to it though, he plays out and around the front of his body a lot. Once he loses a bit of reflex/eye, I think it'll appear apparent quickly, esp to quicker bowlers.
