Number 1 still, and a look at team selection

The Proteas beat Australia with class by 309 runs, helping them retain their number one test ranking. 

The Proteas after winning the test series against Australia 1 - 0 on the day of Ricky Ponting's international retirement, holding on to their number one ranking. Picture taken from http://sports.ndtv.com

With so  many good players being available for test selection, the choices regarding selection are hard. This is a very good thing. Duminy got injured, so du Plessis played for him, and he played brilliantly. The Proteas have immense depth in batting. Even if Duminy does not play for a long time the squad still includes Elgar, Duplessis and Rudolph to choose from. I think David Miller and Richard Levi deserve a look at for test cricket.



All three of our fast bowlers did well in the last test. However, the Proteas should look at the reserves. Rory Kleinveldt is obviously a good player. However, he didn't impress me when he played in the second test match. Ryan McLaren is also good, but I think the selectors should try find a better bowler than either of these two. I think McLaren should stay as a back-up all rounder in case there is an injury, but it would be nice to have another good fast bowler in reserve, Marchant de Lange perhaps, or Parnell. 

AB Devilliers is doing well with the gloves, but prudently, we still have Thami Tsolekile as back-up. This is perfect. But maybe some work should be done by selectors to look for young keepers who we could call on in the future.

Selecting a spinner has always been hard for South Africa. Between Robin Peterson and Imran Tahir it is hard to pick a favourite. Tahir has done better in domestic cricket but has not done as well as Peterson internationally. For me they are both almost equally good spinners. I think though that because Peterson is better with the bat and in the field, he should play more in tests. Of course, I also think younger spinners should be looked at. Dane Piedt of the Cobras is possibly a future option for SA.