In my not so popular opinion, I believe that with bowlers like Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, and Andile Phehlukwayo providing 40 very tidy overs, we can afford to relieve a bowler of his duties and opt for a solid batsman that not only has the ability to score freely at the back end of an innings, but also the temperament and maturity to close-up shop and bat with the tail if push comes to shove. furthermore, given the selection of a batsman at the expense of a bowler (Perhaps Ngidi), it would be beneficial for this player to have the ability to provide 5 or so overs if need be.
I’ve always felt that World Cups are won with the bat, and more specifically by teams who have the ability to chase down big totals under pressure. Every side will be exposed to it during the upcoming World Cup - some will crumble under the pressure, and some will prevail. The difference between those that fail or prevail, in my opinion, does necessarily come down to temperament but rather the depth of a team’s batting line up.
As it stands, it is likely that Andile will occupy the number 7 role. I think this could be a major mistake, given that his primary role is in fact as a bowler. Historically the lower middle order of the South African line-up has consisted of guys like Andrew Hall, Albie Morkel, Justin Kemp, and Mark Boucher to name a few, and I credit a lot of our limited over success to our ability to chase big totals due to the depth of our batting ability.
The number 8 position is where Andile would slot in beautifully, the role that Shaun Pollock left wide open and the role that Vernon Philander occupied in arguably the strong Proteas test side of all time. Another factor to take into account is the inconsistency of David Miller. Granted he’s an incredible player and can hit the ball a country mile, but for every incredible innings he’s played, there have probably been more than a handful of single digit scores, and I stand to be corrected but he seems to thrive off a solid foundation built by the top 5 as opposed to building his own innings – quite literally the opposite of Mark Boucher in my opinion. He is too inconsistent to be batting within the first 35 overs of an ODI match, especially at the World Cup and therefore occupies my number 7 role and will be elevated up the order in the event of a dominant batting performance by the top order.
My top 6 needs to consist of guys who can absorb pressure, who can get stuck if need be, and who value their wickets more than their life! Furthermore, given that 40 overs will be bowled by Steyn, Rabada, Tahir, and Phehlukwayo – We need another 10 overs from the top 7 batsmen. JP Duminy could in all honestly probably take those 10 himself, but on a flat wicket that is not offering the bowlers much purchase, it's best to have a back-up. I therefore need 5 overs from somewhere else and the names that comes to mind are Farhaan Behardien, and Theunis de Bruyn who have both chipped in occasionally with the ball on an international level. de Kock, Amla, du Plessis, Markram, Duminy, Behardien (de Bruyn), and Miller would therefore complete the top 7 which I believe is perfectly capable of chasing totals in excess of 300 on a regular basis; an issue that the current 11 has had over the last year or so, having also been bowled out on a number of occasions.
The backbone of the Proteas arsenal will of course be Steyn, Rabada, Tahir, and Phehlukwayo who operate during the powerplay overs while Duminy, and Behardien (de Bruyn) should be able to get their 5 or so overs each completed in the middle of the innings without letting the batsmen get away from us. At the end of the day is a simple trade off of whether you believe the benefit from having an additional batsman will outweigh the negatives associated with using a part-time bowler. In my opinion, it does, but based on the selection framework opted by Ottis Gibson, he believes otherwise.
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