A surprise in the jungle

A ferocious monster now lurks in the dense jungles of Bangladesh, as Pakistanis, Indians and now South Africans can attest to. For decades, the beast that prowled the small Asian country, was too small to catch substantial prey. Its teeth were blunt and its fangs too short. But sometime in the last three months, this creature underwent a metamorphosis, changing into something far scarier.

Photo from http://nancynwilson.com/work-at-home

This beast has developed a greater appetite, as well as the means with which to catch and kill larger prey. Soon this new appetite will force the creature to go hunting overseas.

I am talking, of course, of an awakening in the Bangladesh cricket team. ODI series victories against Pakistan, India and South Africa are demonstrative of an ascension in the Tigers. Not only has the arrival of wonder-kids Mustafizur Rahman (in bowling) and Soumya Sarkar (in batting) bolstered the team, but every other player seems to be playing twice as well as he did before. The result is impressive.

No longer will Bangladesh be seen as the underdogs, or the easy win. International teams will have to completely rethink how they plan to beat the Tigers.

I will conclude with three questions:

- How long will this show of form last?

- Couldn't the Tigers have improved before the World Cup in February and March?

- Will they pick themselves up after an inevitable setback in the future?

Fans of the Tigers have much to celebrate at the moment. Photo from http://bangladeshcricket.com

South Africans shine for Delhi

South African cricket players, and coach Gary Kirsten, are at the forefront of a Delhi Daredevils revival. The Indian Premiere League (IPL) team is currently fourth out of eight on the log in this year's tournament, as of 24 April. They have three wins and three losses, but seem to be improving from last season's dismal display. This is largely in thanks to JP Duminy, Proteas player, and Delhi captain.

Duminy has batted well thus far, scoring 207 runs at an average of 51.75 and strike rate of 129. He has scored two half-centuries. Duminy has also taken seven wickets with the ball at an average of 10.28 and economy of eight. Duminy seems to inspire his players to perform, and his great fielding helps in that regard.

JP Duminy captains Delhi Daredevils. Photo taken from www.cricketcountry.com

Imran Tahir is also the leading wicket taker in this IPL. He has 13 wickets at an average of 14.23 and economy of 7.7. Tahir is attacking the batsmen's wickets and reaping the reward. A few full and wide balls of his have been punished, but his accuracy has been excellent lately. With Indian spinner Amit Mishra also in the team not doing nearly as well as Tahir (six wickets at 25.83), it highlights the form Tahir finds himself in.

Of course, Gary Kirsten must be doing something right to rally the team from two initial losses to three wins in the next four games. Kirsten's work with the national Indian team in their 2011 world cup win was highly praised, and his period with the Proteas also saw us attain and hold the number one Test spot. It is safe to say that his strategies and approach benefit the Delhi team.

Albie Morkel has only played one match for Delhi so far. But his 73 not out off 55 balls came as a beautiful surprise to me. It was a momento of the player he used to be, and, maybe could be again. Quinton de Kock has not yet played for Delhi this season.

It is hard being a Proteas fan

The first thing a colleague said to me after the Proteas lost in the semi final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to New Zealand, was, "There they choke again. They are chokers." It is an opinion held by many South African cricket fans, and the issue is addressed by the Proteas players and staff themselves. The Proteas have never progressed past the semi final stage at a world cup, and are perceived to play below par in must-win world cup matches.

Proteas ODI Captain AB de Villiers will be distraught after losing in the world cup semi final to New Zealand.

Thus it is exasperating being a Proteas fan. Every time a world cup comes round, and even a T20 world cup, we all get excited that maybe this could be our time. Without fail, we are disappointed. Am I saying that the Proteas' chokers label is accurate? I do not know. All I can say is that, although New Zealand have a very skillful and hard working team this time round, we batted and bowled very well but our fielding in the last overs almost certainly cost us the match.

Du Plessis had called for a catch he could not reach, even when Hashim Amla was ready nearby. The ball landed between them. Then, Farhaan Behardien was poised for a catch when JP Duminy came out of nowhere and dived into him. It appeared that Behardien had already dropped the ball before Duminy arrived, but when a player is approaching like that it can distract you as a fielder. 

It was New Zealand who also ended our world cup dreams in 2011. For them, this is an opportunity to be rugby and cricket world champions at the same time. What a dream come true. With regards to the Proteas, foolish fans such as myself will have to wait another four years. We will wait, as time builds up our hope again.

AB – Nobody is better

There is no better batsman in the world right now than AB de Villiers. The guy is pure genius. His 162 not out off 66 balls demoralised the West Indies team on 27 February, allowing the Proteas to crush them by 257 runs in their World Cup group match. His innings included the world's fasted One Day International 150, and second fasted World Cup 100. What a privilege to have him in South Africa's team, and even better to have him as our ODI captain. 

AB de Villiers is without doubt the best batsman in the world.

As good as Hashim Amla and Virat Kohli are as batsmen (they are ranked second and third in the world in ODIs according to the ICC), they cannot contend with the brilliance of AB. His innings are characterised by indomitable determination, unbeatable (although uncanny) technique, and innovative stroke play. Furthermore, AB is probably the best fielder in the world. He is lightning quick and has enacted many run outs and great catches. 

I am glad that Quinton de Kock is currently our wicketkeeper. Not just because AB can captain without trying to keep wickets at the same time, but also so AB can be in the field. 2015 has been an incredible year for AB, with him also scoring the fastest ODI 100 of all time (off 31 balls). His statistics are actually improving, despite his age of  31 years. In conclusion, AB is the best batsman in the world and has done SA proud. If he cannot lead us to our first World Cup trophy, who can?

SA on course in the World Cup

The Proteas are on course to do well in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. We may have only played one match so far, but the way we performed bodes well. We beat Zimbabwe by 62 runs on 15 February. It was through brilliant centuries by David Miller (138 off 92 balls not out) and JP Duminy (115 off 100 not out), an excellent bowling performance by Imran Tahir (three wickets for 36 runs) and fielding by AB de Villiers (three catches and a run out).

David Miller scored 138 not out to help the Proteas to a win against Zimbabwe. Photo taken from www.2015-icccricketworldcup.com

We scored 339–4 in our 50 overs and Zimbabwe did well to reach 277 all out. It was a tough game, but a good one because we were tested in all departments and passed with flying colours. When batting, we lost wickets early, but recovered to set a great score. When bowling, we were made to work hard for our wickets and were disciplined (although we gave 22 extras). The Zimbabweans had to work for their runs. Then in the field, our only dropped catches went down because they were incredibly difficult ones to take. AB de Villiers took one of the best catches I have seen to dismiss Solomon Mire.

Our next match will be played against India on 22 February. India recently beat Pakistan by 76 runs and their morale will be very high. They are a great team and will be very difficult to beat. Then we will play the West Indies on 27 February. The Windies recently lost to Ireland by four wickets, and their morale will be low. However, they will be determined to progress through the group stage, and will play hard against us.

Do our bowlers have what it takes?

In my last blog I said that the Proteas' bowling attack is its problem in One Day Internationals (ODIs). If South Africa are to do well in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, I believe that our bowling will need to be much better than it has been in recent months. In Tests we are great, but in ODIs our bowling is mediocre. Our death bowling is especially poor, with bowlers carelessly giving runs away in the final overs of an innings. We bowl too wide, too many half volleys, and not enough yorkers.

Morne Morkel is not the bowler he used to be. Photo from www.cricketcountry.com

Imran Tahir is not the world's best spinner. But I like him. He is always trying to take a wicket, and his passion is contagious. Our backup spinner, Aaron Phangiso, has his moments but is usually average. With the hard pitches in Australia and New Zealand, it would have been better to leave him out the squad and let JP Duminy play the role of backup spinner.

Our biggest problem is the fast bowling department. Dale Steyn is always difficult to score off, with pace, away swing and reverse swing. Vernon Philander is accurate and moves the ball well. These two do not bowl many yorkers but they take wickets and keep the runs down. The rest, not so much. Morne Morkel began his career as a positive, tall fast bowler with lots of potential. He was good at first. Now he gives lots of runs away and takes few wickets.

I thought that Kyle Abbott would be better in the international ring, but he has been very expensive. Wayne Parnell is not a good all-rounder. He does not bowl well and he does not bat well. Between him and Morne Morkel, I do not know who bowls more wides and gives more runs away.

To answer the question this blog post is headlined, I think that our bowling will have to improve for us to have a chance at taking this year's World Cup. In fact, they will have to be about 40 per cent better than they currently are.

The Proteas and the World Cup

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 is so close now (it starts on 14 February) it is impossible not to get excited. Every time the World Cup comes around, we as South Africans ask ourselves the same old questions: How will we do this time? Will the Proteas choke again? The Proteas have an average record in World Cups, reaching three semi-finals in seven tournaments. Our best finishing place was third, and our worst was eighth. For a team that has usually been ranked in the top four in the world, we perhaps have not done well enough in the World Cup.

Every four years we wonder if this will be the occasion when our players will show the world how good they are, and go all the way. But to win the World Cup is not easy. A team has to have performed consistently (for about a month and a half) with the bat, the ball and in the field. Proteas Coach Russell Domingo recently said in an interview that he hopes South Africa will do better at the end of the tournament. This is where we have failed in the past, with so many bad semi and quarter-final performances.

Proteas One Day International Captain AB de Villiers will want his team to go far in the World Cup.

But we are ranked third in the world in One Day Internationals at the moment. We also have AB de Villiers in first place as ODI batsman in the world, Hashim Amla in third and (a surprise to me when I saw) Quinton de Kock in seventh place. Recent centuries by Rilee Rossouw and David Miller, and the class we know that JP Duminy has, we can be happy with our batting. 

Of course our fielding is very good at the moment. Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Rilee Rossouw, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy are very quick on the ball, and make batsman pause before trying to sneak a single.

Our bowling department is the problem. I would like to go into this at more depth another time, but although Dale Steyn is third in the world, and Morne Morkel in ninth (somehow!), our bowling has been bad lately. In my opinion Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander are our only good seam bowlers. Imran Tahir is an on-and-off spinner, but usually reliable. The rest are mediocre. 

Having said that, I can barely wait for the World Cup to start, and for the Proteas to throw that monkey off their shoulders.