Proteas young guns aiming to hit Aussie bullseye

by Trevor Chesterfield

You will not find too much reliable info about Roelof van der Merwe, the latest in a growing line of South Africa’s new all-action heroes. But stick around.

van der merwe flying

Here is the a little of the drill on the 24-year-old all-rounder, educated at Hoërskool Waterkloof, Pretoria, which has a cricket academy, is the latest in what is a long line of promising talent to emerge from the ranks of young Afrikaans-speaking players who have displayed their qualities at a higher level.

The Morkel brothers (Morne and Albie and AB de Villiers) are part of the Afrikaans-speaking group, along with Jean-Paul Duminy are part of the game’s new wave designed to develop the Proteas into a highly competitive unit in the short forms of the game. And this is not only for the Australian Standard Bank ODI series starting in Durban on Friday.

As the coach Mickey explains, South Africa’s aim this series is to maintain their position as leading limited overs international side in the International Cricket Council Rankings, but challenge India for the ICC T20 championship when it is held in England in June.

Van der Mere played for South Africa under19 and has been nurtured in the ranks of the Centurion-based Titans team franchise where he has had developed his all-round skills. Neels de Villiers, elder brother of Proteas seamer and swing bowler, Fanie de Villiers, largely handled Van der Merwe’s coaching at Waterkloof.

But as is usually the case, it is up to the player to develop and make his way in the game, and Van der Merwe knew if he wanted to join the bigger Titans names in the national squad he would have to work for it. With so many top players away, and Martin van Jaarsveld’s growing commitment to the English county Kent, Pierre Joubert, a talented all-rounder himself and thoughtful captain as well as a genuine journeyman without pretending to be anything else, was made captain.

This has worked well and Van der Merwe, whose domestic T20 form earned him a surprise recognition from Mike Procter’s national selection committee, has done far more than expected although his ungainly ‘heave ho, my hearties’ at the start of his batting escaped had that slapstick approach that made him look ungainly. But the way he swatted the Australian bowling was a boisterous as was his reception by the Centurion crowd.

His all-round efforts along with some slick boundary riding fielding earned the sort of recognition he might have wished for and suddenly received. Along with Wayne Parnell, who has been given a central contract, Roelof van der Merwe is a name you might come to read a lot more about as this season progresses, along with his T20 exploits with the Bangalore Royals, by whom he has been signed for the Indian Premier League during their South African season.

The morning following his epic efforts he learnt how his match-winning contribution had earned him a berth in the South African squad for the first two one-day internationals, in Durban on Friday and Centurion on Sunday.

‘It came as a complete surprise," said Van der Merwe. ‘There are guys like (Jacques) Kallis and Morné (Morkel) coming back into the squad, so I didn't really expect it.’

Van der Merwe had made his presence felt in the Titans Pro20 and 45-overs teams for the past two seasons, both as an explosive batsman and as a very effective left-arm slow bowler.

He was a member of the South African under-19 World Cup team in 2004 and, as he puts it: ‘I went under the radar for a couple of years. But pulled myself together and earned a place in the Titans team. I have mainly played in the limited overs matches, but I am working on becoming a permanent member of the four-day side. That is one of my main goals.’

Van der Merwe said the presence of other Titans in the national team (AB de Villiers, the Morkel brothers and Dale Steyn), had helped him feel at home when he joined the Pro20 squad last week.

‘I have played a lot with them, and they helped me to feel part of the squad. I also talked a lot to Graeme Smith, who is really an awesome person, and he helped me plenty.’

South African Pro20 captain Johan Botha said after the match on Sunday night that Van der Merwe had a very good chance of getting a place in the squad for the Twenty20 World Cup in England in June.

‘Yes. I would say that he's very, very close,’ admitted Botha. ‘If he gets into the one-day squad and puts in one or two good performances, he should be at the (ICC) T20 World Championship (in England).

Van der Merwe will be getting some good T20 practice ahead of the international event in England, as he will be playing in the Indian Premier League.

Procter was clear enough in his endorsement of Van der Merwe when he and the other selectors let their thoughts be known after the all-rounder’s performance. Although he is in the squad, it gives them the extra option. They will look at his form after the first two games: Durban Friday and Centurion on Sunday.

‘As an all-rounder Roelof provides us with cover for Jacques Kallis who is recovering from a groin injury,’ Procter said. ‘The fitness of Jacques will be assessed by our medical team when the squad assembles in Durban. After that it is a question of time.’

He agreed that the South Africa experimental line up with their line-up for last Sunday's second T20 games was a gamble. The Proteas rested Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla among others to try out their Twenty20 stars and the results left Procter excited by the young talent.

‘Roelof, Yusuf Abdulla and Robin Peterson have all performed outstandingly from the opportunities they have been given which is extremely encouraging,’ he added. ‘It enables us to broaden the base of our playing talent and gives us some exciting options when we select the squad for the ICC World Twenty20 in England in June.

‘Although he is not part of the ODI squad, Yusuf Abdulla will practise with the Proteas this week to give him another opportunity to work within the national team environment,’ Procter commented.

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