SonOfAPitch

For many years we, as South African cricket fans, had to hear that our national team’s bowling attack is predictable, too monotonous, etc.

Lets analyze the attack a bit.  We have had Shaun Pollock, Ntini, Kallis (when he really wants to bend his back he can be quicker than Ntini on the day), Nel, Steyn and whoever else that can chuck the cherry down at pace head up the bowling attack.  And that has been the status quo for many years.  “What about Robin Petersen” some may ask…Well, my dear unenligtenend friends, what about him? 

When you have the press, administrators and team management complain for years about the lack of properly trained / coached spin bowlers, you tend to have teams picked without a spin bowler.  So to keep the balance in the side, you pick Robin.  If his inclusion in the squad the last few years could be described as anything else BUT political, I would welcome the differing point of view without taking you seriously.  He gets picked, plays in the most unimportant of games just to justify his inclusion in the squad and even then he gets “klapped” for 40 in 5 overs.  For five snakes people, Smith as captain has bowled more overs than Petersen the last two years, and even the captain goes for plenty.  So when the crunch games start you fall back onto a 5 prong seam attack.  So is predictable really that stupid a statement?  I think not…

So a relative nobody arrives on the scene, and no disrespect Mr Harris, but no-one, or at least 80% of the cricket mad population of South Africa has never heard of you before you donned the green on 2 January 2007.  But what we found was someone that could actually bowl with control, get some purchase off the pitch and had a level of maturity in his approach of someone that was a national veteran.  Did it earn him a spot in the one day squad? No!  Did it earn him a spot in World Cup squad…No!!  It earned him the tag as a test bowler…

Now, in the modern game of cricket, even when you take into consideration the current cricket greats such as Jacques Kallis and Ponting, they will cringe at being left out of a one-day squad because they feel they have the guns to contribute to both forms of the game.  We all saw what a huge ruccus it caused when Kallis was dropped from the 20/20 world cup squad.  It does not matter how we, the administartors or the team selectors felt about his batting style and tempo, HE felt he had mroe in him than people gave him credit for.  So lets compare that situation with a find like Paul Harris.

Why would anyone leave someone like Harris, that has proved himself time and time again, out of the SA one day squad?  What is the reasoning behind that?  Let’s look at his replacement for the one day series against Pakistan comming up shortly…Johan Botha.  So many questions has been asked of his bowling action the last few years it’s scary.  He last wore a SA shirt 18 MONTHS ago.  He is not even in Pakistan at the moment.  Yet he will replace Harris as the spin bowler for the one day series. 

Having played the game for quite some time now I can honestly say that there is NO difference in the way you bowl a ball in a long or shorter form of the game.  The batsmen’s approach is what changes, not the way a ball is being bowled.  So how would someone like Botha bowling in the one day series change the face of the attack?  In all likelyhood, if your test skills are up to scratch, you have the skills the bowl in a one-dayer.  Botha has played one test match and 13 one dayers, and in both forms of the game he averages 5 runs an over!  And combined he has taken only 9 wickets!  Surely someone like Harris proved himslef and should have been given the task of spinning a few webs in the upcomming one day series?

Or is it just too fashionable to have your two completely different squads for what is essentially one sport?

I understand the inclusion of some big hitting batsmen, or extra batsmen in your lineup that can hold an end witha  ball if needed, like a Van der Wath or a Philander.  But surely you don’t gamble with a spinner when you have already found a match winner?