SA Have a ‘Host’ of Problems

Pakistan’s hopes to have their team at least participate in an away series have been squashed for all practical purposes. The reasons do not have much to do with the country’s political imbroglio but rather with the host nation’s burdensome barrel full of worries.

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The England tour was going on quite to plan until the one day series arrived. It then took away the sheen from the South Africans. Their smirks turned into whining whimpers and like their sulking, the series slipped away. The excuses provided a choc-a-bloc drama but the show that was on view was enough to depress most fans of the South African team to want to turn off their television sets or at least, hope the one day series would fold up soon.

Prayers seemed nearly answered when the fourth one day international at Lord’s was nearly washed away. So near! The shortened game livened up England again and despite Herschelle Gibbs and his heroics, there was little in the tank to provide for a South African late charge. Apart from the England team, not many fans (except for those who turned up at the ground) were too disappointed when the final match at Cardiff was called off. After all, the abysmal performance of the South Africans in the one day series made it hardly anything to look forward to in the final match. Only the England squad, energized by their new skipper Kevin Pietersen, would have rued the opportunity to not make it a clean sweep.

In light of the manner in which the series panned out and the sour note on which the tour ended, the South African touring team hardly seemed like an enthusiastic bunch about the prospect of hosting another tri series or quadrangular series in light of the cancelled Champions Trophy in Pakistan. Perhaps had the result of the series been any different, South Africa would have perhaps been more eager to play hosts.

As it turns out, South Africa can no longer hide the fact that the Kolpak agreement has steadily drained the country’s cricket resources and the senior members of the team are either in a slump or plagued by injury worries with few decent substitutes at the team management’s disposal. The situation has forced the coach, Mickey Arthur to voice a few uncomfortable, inconvenient truths about the tough measures South Africa would have to perhaps employ in order to meet Australia on a near equal footing in a few months’ time. The fact that South Africa named only Kallis as skipper but failed to find a suitable substitute reveals the fragile confidence in the camp about this one day line up.

Graeme Smith seems hampered to address some of the issues himself with his own desperation to get fit before the Australian tour and the tennis elbow becoming a growing worry by the day. With injuries to Dale Steyn, Morne and Albie Morkel, Mark Boucher and the lackluster form of Gibbs and Jacques Kallis, South Africa were perhaps wary of hosting the tournament not only from the point of view of providing some rest for their players but also, not keen to scar the team any more than it has been jolted on the tour to England.

South Africa failed to check the Kolpak exodus. One has only to refresh one’s memory of former South African players to find their names lingering in English cricket! Now the unexpected money booster that have been the IPL and the ICL with the latter taking precedence in terms of worldly introductions, South Africans lost a bunch of all-rounders who on their day have the capability to turn the match on its head. Now faced with the prospect of not only finding all-rounders but also, specialists to fill up unexpected but urgent vacancies. South Africa are now faced with the prospect to turn to England again and hope to entice some of their players back. Not an easy feat what with money flows like milk, cream and honey from the Twenty20 life.

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