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Cobras ignore their Proteas
14/04/2008 18:32 - (SA)
Cape Town - The Cape Cobras could have turned Newlands into a veritable snake pit for the Pro20 semi-final against the Titans on Friday.
Instead, they chose to cock a snoot at some of the world's finest cricketers
among the returning members of the Proteas squad who have just completed a
Test series in India.
It seems the Cobras selectors have taken a leaf out of the South African
selectors' book by ignoring the world-class talents of allrounder Jacques
Kallis. His omission from South Africa's T20 World Cup squad last year caused a stir throughout the cricketing world.
Now the Cobras have ignored him, together with wicketkeeper/batsman Mark
Boucher, batsman Ashwell Prince and speedster Mondi Zondeki for Friday's clash against the Titans.
The Wisden Cricketer's Almanack, popularly known as world cricket's Bible, last week named Kallis as the "Leading Cricketer in the World" for 2007.
It is hard to imagine that any international team, let alone a South African
franchise side, can afford to turn down his playing services.
World-class line-up
Had the Cobras' selectors included these internationals they would have been able to field a world-class line-up that would have included at least 10 current internationals.
Instead, only Graeme Smith and JP Duminy from the Proteas squad which arrives back in South Africa on Tuesday, have been named in Friday's line-up.
Smith will open with another international cap in Andrew Puttick, and they
will be followed by a potentially explosive batting line-up that includes
Herschelle Gibbs, JP Duminy, Henry Davids, Vernon Philander, Rory Kleinveldt
and Tyron Henderson, who blasted two sixes during his brief stay at the
crease against Eagles at Newlands last Friday.
Boucher is a world-class "wickie" and has battered some of the world's best
bowling attacks in the one-day arena, but the Cobras have gone for the Ryan
Canning, who is hardly likely to count among the top four glovemen in South
Africa.
Zondeki will also be out in the cold, and perhaps the Cobras selectors
forgot that he was one of the most prolific wicket-takers during the
domestic season.
Would like to play
However, the Cobras selectors would be wise to tell the omitted players they
are on standby, rather than go off to play in the Indian Professional League
(IPL) which gets under way at the weekend. In the event of injuries, these
players could be called up.
Usually, players returning from international duty request to be released from
domestic duty but this time it was different. Smith, for example, had
already alerted the Cobras that he would like to play while he was still in
India.
There may be a reason for this about turn in wanting to play locally, rather
than enjoy a break. This season, the two Pro20 teams that plays the final
will be automatically included in a lucrative world Pro20 event in October,
in Dubai, where prize money of about R16m will be on offer.
The players stand to strike it rich if their team conquers the champion
teams from other countries like Australia, India, Pakistan and West Indies.
Cobras coach and selection convener Shukri Conrad said they were faced with
an embarrassment of talent and choices and it had been a difficult call to
make.
"Did the selectors completely reshuffle the team by packing in the six
national players or did they back the current crop who had brought the Cobras unbeaten to the knock out stages of the competition?
"The selectors opted to go for continuity, with some batting reinforcement
at the top of the order, but it was not an easy decision since the national
players are so self evidently great talents and had indicated they were keen
to play," said Conrad.
Western Cape Cricket CEO, Andre Odendaal, emphasised that the international
players had put their obligations to SA cricket first and had been keen to
play for the Cape Cobras.
"We appreciate the fact that Cricket South Africa went out of their way to
ensure they were available and that they were all prepared to come back for
the final two weeks of the Standard Bank Pro 20, even at the risk of losing
considerable income in India," said Odendaal.
"The Cape Cobras selectors have now made their call and our players can now
participate in the launch of the IPL with the full blessing of WCC. Indeed,
the team was selected early so that they knew where they stood and were not
unnecessarily inconvenienced."
The Titans are likely to haul out their big guns for the Newlands trip. One
can bet they will call up their Proteas caps. Hence the likes of AB de
Villiers, Morne Morkel and Paul Harris are likely to turn out at Newlands,
with the explosive Albie Morkel and excitable Andre Nel in tow.
The team:
The Cobras team for Friday's semi-final is as follows: Graeme Smith (captain), Andrew Puttick, Herschelle Gibbs, JP Duminy, Henry Davids, Vernon Philander, Rory Kleinveldt, Tyron Henderson, Con de Lange, Ryan Canning and Charl Langeveldt.
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