A Load Of Rubbish

The South African Team that took on England at Johannesburg yesterday was essentially this. No I'm not discrediting some very talented players like Smith, Gibbs, Kallis, Boucher, Pollock or Ntini. I am speaking against the absolutely ridiculous selection policy followed by the South African selectors.

As Wisden Cricinfo rightly says South Africa needed more than half the Test series to get their team right and if that is the way they are going to go about it in the ODI series as well England should be thanking their stars. Not that England would not be able to beat a full-strength South Africa side with some ease, but this is a mockery of the game.

Anyone remotely knowledgable about Cricket would endorse my claim that the lineup put forth by South Africa yesterday was ridiculous. Most would also back me on what the ideal South African XI should be: DeVilliers, Gibbs, Smith, Kallis, Hall, Rudolph, Boucher, Pollock, Boje, Ntini, Nel. The name that stares you in the face is the first one - AB DeVilliers - the one bright talent unearthed by South Africa in the Test series - what was he doing in the dressing room ?? What the hell are Bacher, Kemp, Prince - all making comebacks after a century or so doing in the XI together ? Isn't there any concept of backing current form ??

Of course the selectors will go on to say that they wanted to provide rest to the players, follow a rotation policy (maybe make no explanation at all), but by Jove - South Africa have lost everything under the Sun in 2004 - they are not a team that can afford the luxury of experimentation. As it is, World Cricket is suffering from a spate of one-sided games and artificially weakened teams - it can do without such stupid whimsical selections.

I urge England to beat this South African Team as soundly as possible ... 7-0 would be great. There is no place in World Cricket for rubbish like this.