Proteas recall Morne
2 Dec 2009
Morne Morkel replaces his brother Albie in the Proteas’ 15-man squad for the coming Test series against England.
Albie and Imraan Khan were involved in South Africa’s last Test against Australia but make way for a more experienced pair. Morne replaces his brother while Graeme Smith is back at the top of the order after recovering from injury.
Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Ryan McLaren and Friedel de Wet are the uncapped players named in the squad.
‘Alviro Petersen deserves his call-up both for the impressive way he has returned to international cricket and the weight of runs he has made in domestic cricket,’ explained selector Mike Procter. ‘He is able to cover all of the top six batting positions.
‘Ryan McLaren provides us with an all-rounder if we want to go down that route and we want both Wayne Parnell and Friedel de Wet to work in the national squad set-up.’
The squad will gather on 11 December for a pre-Test series camp at Potchefstroom’s Senwes Park.
Proteas’ Test squad – Graeme Smith (Cape Cobras, captain), Hashim Amla (Dolphins), Mark Boucher (Warriors), AB de Villiers (Titans), Friedel de Wet (Highveld Lions), JP Duminy (Cape Cobras), Paul Harris (Titans), Jacques Kallis (Warriors), Ryan McLaren (Diamond Eagles), Morne Morkel (Titans), Makhaya Ntini (Warriors), Wayne Parnell (Warriors), Alviro Petersen (Highveld Lions), Ashwell Prince (Warriors), Dale Steyn (Titans).
42 Comments
2 Dec 2009, 11:49 am
KP is a ****. Attention hogging racoon.
2 Dec 2009, 12:18 pm
This is a good move. Morne’s pace and bounce troubled the poms. He’ll be a handful in the tests.
2 Dec 2009, 12:45 pm
where’s McKenzie?
So much for Mickey ‘********’ Arthur.
“ya, Neil’s still in our plans, you just dont throw that kind of experience away”
Full of hot air as usual!
And why the hell is de Wet in the side? He’s hardly one for the dutspe, he’s 29 years old! That’s old for a fast bowler.
Poor decisions
2 Dec 2009, 15:10 pm
Good luck Proteas for the tests. Hope it will be as exciting as it was last year against Oz.
2 Dec 2009, 15:12 pm
@Puma: hiyas brudda ^5
2 Dec 2009, 15:12 pm
Hope we smash ‘em. Our ODI record against them makes me ill.
2 Dec 2009, 15:22 pm
@sharks_lover: Howzit Shark, Read on rt that BJ has a knee injury. Looks like all the TH that played for the Boks on this eoyt got a injury. Except JOHN
2 Dec 2009, 15:37 pm
smith
prince
amla
kallis
de villiers
duminy
boucher
harris
morkel
steyn
mtini
parnell to eventually force his way in at the expense of mtini…
2 Dec 2009, 15:40 pm
@gunther: Hope Prince takes up from where he left off last year against Oz in that final test in Cape Town. He was superb.
At this stage think I would have Parnell in the side. He is bowling really well.
2 Dec 2009, 15:47 pm
@Puma:
prince is battng beautifully for his province…I would also have parnell… Mtini has been poor this year but its going to be his 100th test…
2 Dec 2009, 16:41 pm
I’m worried about jp and the short balls he’ll be getting. He looks vulnerable under the short deliveries.
2 Dec 2009, 16:49 pm
I hope Prince scores some runs. In his last game for the Warriors he got 4 and 15.
2 Dec 2009, 21:49 pm
@williforde: @williforde: At least in the tests JP can just look to survive the short balls. He’s been getting out in the one-dayers because he has to look to score off them. Hopefully they’ll have done some work on them, but it’s sad that the one guy who can probably help the most, Gary Kirsten, is otherwise occupied.
3 Dec 2009, 05:20 am
Nice to see Alviro get a look in. I’d play the first test with Ntini as his bowling against left-handers is better than Parnells. I also would have gotten Kuhn in for a dead rubber.
3 Dec 2009, 11:44 am
@kriskros: That’s the problem. The only way to negate this short ball barrage is to attack the darn thing.
At the moment bowlers know that he won’t look to score so it’s either he gets a good one and gets out or he ducks/evades and it’s a dot ball, which builds pressure but if he sorts out his frailties and starts attacking the short ball it gives the bowler something else to think about.
I believe he’ll come right, Amla had similar problems when he started out.
3 Dec 2009, 12:29 pm
@gunther: 8
mthini, Gunther, mthini? After all these years of the man playing for SA you still don’t know that it is NTHINI. (smilie)
He won’t be replaced by Parnell. It will be either Tsotsobe or Monde Zondeki. There has to be one indigenous African in the team.
BTW did you know that Zondeki was the leading wicket taker in the previous two seasons in domestic cricket? The longer version. He should have been in the squad now if you take his performances into account. But no, SA crocket is waiting for Nthini to retire before they will add either him or Tsotsobe to the squad.
3 Dec 2009, 12:34 pm
jozi
When Duminy tries to attack the short pitched bowling he often gets out caught. Problem.
Hence, he’s poor against short pitched bowling
3 Dec 2009, 12:39 pm
nama
NTHINI? REALLY NTHINI?
After all these years YOU cant even spell his name! hahaha.
It is, in fact. Ntini. Makhaya Ntini!
And actually, Zondeki wasnt the leading wicket takes in the supersport series last year. He was the year before last but not last year. He’s had quite an ordinary time of it since then which is a shame.
I think Tsotsobe is a better bowler than him anyway and he has a brighter future.
3 Dec 2009, 13:19 pm
@WP_: Yeah catch 22 but the best players in the world are never bogged down by short pitched bowling. He needs to spend hours in the nets ractifying this frailty.
The only way to stop the predictable short pitched bowling he’ll get is if he looks to be positive. Ducking and diving won’t help him at all.
Strange how some guys will struggle with one thing and not the other. Neil Mackenzie struggled against spinners for years and yet he was majestic against the short ball.
Eish Nama, you gave me a good laugh there….Nthini?!
WTF is wrong with Roy and his reluctance to fix the reply button. Blogging without being able to see the number of the post you’re responding to ain’t fun.
3 Dec 2009, 13:36 pm
Virender Sehwag 284 not out off 239 balls against Sri Lanka.
How incredible is that. Absolute magic.
Sehwag is what Gibbs could have been, had he had a better temperament.
3 Dec 2009, 13:42 pm
Yeah jozi. Agreed. Lot of hard work ahead of JP. He’s most definately talented enough to fix the problem.
He needs to do it soon or else it’ll follow him around his whole career which will impede him.
Just like Sourav Ganguly.
3 Dec 2009, 13:54 pm
By the way, McKenzie is one of the better players of spin around…. ?
3 Dec 2009, 14:17 pm
@WP_: 18
Sjjt man. I wanted to see if he would spot it. Did you not see the smilie?
Monde Zondeki
Bowling averages
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR
6 11 780 480 19 6/39 9/105 25.26 3.69 41.0
Morne Morkel
Bowling averages
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM AveEcon SR
17 32 3101 1920 55 5/50 7/113 34.90 3.71 56.3
Fairly similar records. In fact Zondeki’s record might just be slightly better. Now why the preference of Morne over Zondeki every year.
Zondeki made his debut in August of 2003 against England and only played a further 5 test matches since then. Morkel made his debut in 2006 against India and played a further 16 test matches since then.
Now they’ve called up somebody whose first class record is worse than his test record. It does not make sense to me.
Friedel de Wet
Bowling averages(First-class)
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR
44 9091 4314 182 7/61 23.70 2.84 49.9
I really did not put on this post to make it a black/white discussion. I just want to prove to some guys here that all things being equal between a white player and a black player, the selectors will go for the white player.
We had this discussion earlier in the year, do you remember WP?
3 Dec 2009, 14:17 pm
@WP_:
WP…cmon mate, even you and I could score centuries on those roads they call cricket pitches over there!!!!
Still, he is one classy player….he is what JP could be for SA. Which brings me to the short ball problem…I remember Geoff Boycott calling Kallis a “happy hooker” (no, not that kind!!!) at one stage because he would continuously get out to the short ball. Solution? Kallis, like JP tends to favour the front foot.
Nothing wrong with that on most pitches and he does not need to change anything. All he needs to do is play a bit deeper in his crease and he will have enough time to adjust and play his shot. It worked for Kallis so it may work for him. The good thing is that he is good enough on the drive, so playing a bit deep in the crease should not be too big a problem for him.
3 Dec 2009, 14:22 pm
@WP_: #22
Please, not your obsession with McKenzie again.
3 Dec 2009, 14:33 pm
@nama1: 23
To top it of, Zondeki is probably a better batsman than Morne.
3 Dec 2009, 14:42 pm
@nama1:
Zondeki and Morne Morkel are different types of bowlers. Zondeki tends to swing more whereas Morkel is a ‘hit-the-deck kind of bowler who seams the ball. It is therefore pointless comparing the two.
SA already has a swing bowler in Parnell and a genuine quickie in Steyn. What we lack is someone who can make a ball rise sharply off a good length, which is where Morkel’s strength lies.
3 Dec 2009, 14:45 pm
26 nama
Monde has been injured quite a bit since 2003, which has hampered his growth as a bowler. I dont believe Friedel de Wet should be anywhere near the national team.
Dig up Dillon du Preez stats for me there please. I reckon he was unlucky to miss out. And he’s a better bat than the other two
Golden Boy
I know they are national roads they play on, but you still have to score the runs. A 100 is still a 100 no matter who you score it against… And there was a bit of turn there too.
But his powers of concerntration and hitting abilities are amazing.
Nama
Obesession with McKenzie? No. But you cant deny he’s a good player of spin… Can you? That’s all I said… Plus, did you see he got 140 last week?
3 Dec 2009, 14:48 pm
Golden Boy
Not forgetting that Steyn also has the ability to swing the ball. Especially the red one, and late too. Great stuff.
Monde was never really up to it to be honest. And if you’ve watched him this year you would know that he’s been really inconsistent. Very wayward
3 Dec 2009, 14:50 pm
@WP_:
If he bats till tea tomorrow, I think we can kiss Lara’s record goodbye. A classy player in any form of the game. It always amazes me how players from the subcontinent are able to concentrate for hours at a time in that heat and humidity, yet they never seem to complain about cramps (Sorry, I just had to put that in there)
3 Dec 2009, 14:55 pm
@WP_:
Agree…Monde was always a bit on the frail side for my liking and he is seriously injury prone…
the mant injuries and operations have taken a toll on his bowling and it may have affected his confidence as well.
3 Dec 2009, 15:10 pm
28 WP
McKenzie had his chances, really. It would be a step backwards if he is called up again. I also think that SA players have come on in leaps and bounds as far as playing spin is concerned.
@Golden Boy: #30
If Sehwag continues in this way tomorrow, not only Lara’s test record but also his first class record will be in danger tomorrow by tea.
Fortunately he has Dravid with him. The ideal partner in this situation.
3 Dec 2009, 15:17 pm
@Golden Boy: #27
At the end of the day all that counts is your ability to take wickets.
Looking at the strike rate of the two, it is clear that Zondeki’s is better. One wicket in 41 balls against Morne’s strike rate of one wicket every 57 balls.
No matter how well you swing it or what kind of bounce you can extract from the wicket, if you can’t send the batsman back to the pavilion, you have not done your job in a test match.
3 Dec 2009, 15:33 pm
Yes. Lara’s record is well in danger.
Nama
I doubt McKenzie will get picked again but he’s a classy player…
Dravid is just superb. Love watching him bat. Wonderful technician at the crease, Brilliant technique
3 Dec 2009, 15:34 pm
Du Preez’s stats?
3 Dec 2009, 16:40 pm
WP 34
He should just keep his head and not make the same mistake the former Pakistan captain made earlier this year when he had a chance to break Lara’s record. If he does not lose his wicket in the first 30minutes or so, I would say it’s on. Poor Dravid’s role in it, if he does it, will probably be underscored by most people.
Remember when VVS batted so brilliantly against the Aussies in 2001, nobody mentioned Dravid although he was there all the way.
Dillon du Preez
Bowling averages ((Firt Class)
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR
49 8933 4071 171 7/108 23.80 2.73 52.2
3 Dec 2009, 16:46 pm
The stats get messed up when you submit it. You must figure it out for yourself. There are no stats for innings and BBM.
3 Dec 2009, 17:11 pm
Pretty decent stats for du Preez hey?
average of 23, not bad at all…
Agreed. Dravid doesnt get the appreciation he deserves. He’s always the guy doing the business in the background.
Quality, quality performer. Legend.
3 Dec 2009, 18:51 pm
@WP_: 38
Yeah, I see. In comparison with Morkel, he is the better bet. He is also a year younger than Friedel de Wet. What is his form like this year? Must admit, I have not follow him keenly. Will do so to see what you’re see in him.
But you know our SA selectors. Score two centuries in succession or take 15 wickets four matches in our BELOW PAR first class competition and your name goes into the hat as a potential Protea player.
3 Dec 2009, 20:07 pm
I agree nama. I’m not very impressed with our selectors.
Funny you ask, du Preez was in fact the leading wicket taker in the SS series last year…. (Not monde)
He’s has a pretty solid year this year too. How the selectors got to de Wet is anybody’s guess!
4 Dec 2009, 09:03 am
Pity about Sewagh. Out for 293. Stupid caught and bowl by Murali.
It would have been a record triple-century if he was able to reach it because he would have been the only player with 3 triple-centuries. He currently shares the record with Bradman and Lara.
Dravid also missed out on a century. Out for 74. Tendulkar probably won’t. Still there with 53*.
India currently 544/3 after 111 overs. Run rate is nearly five!
4 Dec 2009, 10:00 am
591/5
Laxman just played a stupid shot to get himself out for 62.
Suprisingly none of Dravid, Tendulkar or Laxman kicked on for a 100
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