My South African Cricket XV For The World Cup

I love cricket. It’s in my blood. I watch and follow the sport religiously. I try and be as objective as possible about the team and it’s performances but my emotions always betray me.

We’re on the eve of the announcement of the team we’ll send to another World Cup (can you believe it’s been four years), and it’s fascinating reading my own thoughts. Well, fascinating for me. On one hand I can’t wait – I really think, like most South Africans, we have what it takes to do it this time.

But then I think harder and realise we had what it took to win every other damn year we’ve participated. The bottom line – having what it takes, talent, selection and I daresay even management and preparation have had a minuscule impact on our World Cup efforts in the past. The real culprit?

Moments. World Cups are made and broken on moments. If only Herschelle hadn’t thrown that ball away so quickly. If only Allan had run, for sh*t’s sake. If only Shaun had read the DL report properly.

Then, another side of me argues that moments are nothing but a culmination of everything that has come before them – including preparation, management, selection, skill, practice, etc. Australia didn’t win by mistake, and neither did Sri Lanka before them. It’s arguable that Pakistan had their share of luck in ’92, but the fact is they always looked like winning.

The point is, there really is no way of knowing, before this World Cup starts, who will win. There are too many moments to predict. I can tell you that the law of averages states that you can get so close without winning only so many times. I do believe we are a deserving team, and I am proud of how our boys have grown in stature and maturity over the last few years. I support them wholeheartedly.

There are many who wouldn’t agree with me. So many ‘fans’ who expect South Africa (whether it’s rugby, cricket, soccer, whatever) to win EVERY game. Fans who look to axe someone – anyone – when things don’t look absolutely gravy. Sometimes I wonder if South Africa’s sports teams have worse enemies in their fickle supporters than in their opponents on the pitch.

After that brief rant, I thought that instead of trying to predict exactly what we’ll see announced, I’ll put up who I think should go to the World Cup this year. I haven’t taken into account any quota systems.

My World Cup XV:

1. Graeme Smith (Captain)
2. Mark Boucher (Wicketkeeper)
3. Jacques Kallis (Vice Captain)
4. Shaun Pollock
5. AB de Villiers (Second ‘keeper)
6. Herschelle Gibbs
7. Makhaya Ntini
8. Justin Kemp
9. Andrew Hall
10. Loots Bosman
11. Andre Nel
12. Charl Langeveldt
13. Ashwell Prince
14. Robin Peterson
15. Johan van der Wath

The guys who missed out are Dippenaar (we don’t need another ‘steadier’ with Kallis and Prince already there), Duminy (who I’d be willing to be my bottom dollar goes in place of Andrew Hall), Ontong (not convinced), Telemachus (can’t have vd Wath and him – I prefer vd Wath’s prospects on the WI wickets) and Dale Steyn, who will just get walloped on those low slow wickets.

We’ll have to see what the UCB decides…

  • http://soup.co.za/weblog/ Jaxon Rice

    Admit it, you KNEW something was going to go wrong when Klusener and Donald were facing that fateful ball. I think that was destiny.

    That aside, once you get to the semis it is all down to chance. Any of the final four teams can beat their opposition if one of their players does something special.

    Sport is immensely important to most South Africans and i have often felt that the general zeitgeist of our country often reflects how well/poorly our national sports teams are doing.

    Regarding your cricket selection, they would be stupid not to include Andrew Hall in the starting line up. He has fighting qualities, can bat, and is in good form at the moment. I would definitely pick him above Andre Nel.

  • http://stii.za.net Stii

    Man, I cannot understand why they have not given Loots Bosman more game time. I love his style. He is exciting and can bliksem a ball like few other…

  • http://www.mikestopforth.com Mike

    So I was one off, seems Telemachus got the nod over vd Wath as I feared). Some might say this is a ‘quota’ decision, as with Telemachus on board we’ve reached our target of 7 players of colour, which I think is commendable, seeing as six were definitely picked on merit and one was a toss-up.

    Let’s hope someone has a chat to Tele on the plane about pitching the frikkin’ ball up…

  • http://www.thecolony.co.uk Grant

    1 off! And by your own admission you had not taken quotas into account. I’d claim a 100% predicition.

  • http://www.quirk.biz Rob

    Rocking selection! I would have chosen the same although Telemachus/VDW may have slipped for Duminy. Either way, the selectors have put together a squad I have huge hopes for. After years of heartache something deep inside me says that this may be our year – although never underestimate a wounded kangaroo…
    I feel like such a chop for not buying a ticket a year ago when they were still only “slightly” expensive.