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Kallis happy to take a break
06/12/2007 21:50 - (SA)
Christo Buchner , Beeld
Johannesburg - Jacques Kallis is quite comfortable with the fact of not having been picked for the Twenty20 cricket match against the West Indies in Port Elizabeth.
"It's an entirely different story from when he wasn't selected for the World Cup tournament," South African coach Mickey Arthur said on Thursday.
"This time there has been no interference and Jacques knows exactly why he won't be playing," said Arthur.
"There is nothing strange about his omission. The selectors simply felt that Jacques, Mark Boucher and André Nel need a break before we gather in Port Elizabeth on December 23 for the first Test.
"These three players' places are cemented for the Test and ODI series, and since this is the only reasonable break they will have over the next 18 months, we felt they should get away from cricket for a while and just go and relax.
"There really would have been no point in selecting Jacques for this T20 game. There are certain players we want to watch, which is why we picked some of the younger players.
"We would also like to see Dale Steyn bowling more with the new ball in different situations. Makhaya (Ntini), we feel, also needs to bowl a spell of four overs and that is why he is playing," said Arthur.
"Shaun (Pollock) did not play in the Tests, so he's getting some match practice."
Kallis was not at all happy about not making the squad for the World Cup tournament, and resigned as vice-captain.
There were also strong rumours that the big boss of SA cricket, Norman Arendse, had exercised his veto rights to ensure that Kallis didn't make the 15-man squad.
In three T20 matches for South Africa Kallis hit only 39 runs at an average of 13 per innings.
- Beeld
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