It's a World Cup year, and in a World Cup year, it's not always today's result that is the immediate focus.

Zaahier Adams

AUCKLAND: It’s a World Cup year, and in a World Cup year, it’s not always today’s result that is the immediate focus. At least, that is the view of South African convenor of selectors Andrew Hudson.

The World Cup is, of course, the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September, and Hudson views the planning for that event as far more important than the Proteas’ T20 series “final” against New Zealand at Eden Park today.

Hudson has certainly had plenty of discussions with coach Gary Kirsten while he’s been in New Zealand, because the pair are almost in perfect synergy, much like when they opened the batting for South Africa during the 1990s.

Kirsten has tried to give all his players time in the middle during the three-match T20 series against the Black Caps, and has manipulated the batting and bowling line-ups to view a certain player in a set situation – which explains why Wayne Parnell strode out at No 3 in Hamilton. The fact that he was not an instant hit does not seem to deter Kirsten – or Hudson, for that matter.

“We back Gary 100 percent, totally understanding what he is trying to achieve,” Hudson remarked.

“Of course the team want to win, but at this stage, it is not completely results-driven, and to have that mindset within the pressures of professional sport is incredible.

“It’s about following the process that ultimately pays dividends at the World Cup.”

But it is not just on-field gameplans that require monitoring. A 15-man squad need to be decided upon come September, and the current brainstrust are not afraid to stretch their net to find the right personnel. And importantly, when discovered, like Richard Levi at the moment, the structures around him are good.

“Some people think (simply) throw him in and give him a run,” Hudson said.

“Grooming is also about getting used to the culture, getting to know the guys. In hindsight, it was great learning for (Levi) to feel comfortable in the new surroundings. We never intended it this way when we picked him, but it seemed to work out like this.”

Levi will have to wait a while longer for his debut in one-day internationals despite the clamour for him to be added to the 14-man squad set to face the Black Caps in three matches after the T20 series.

The new T20 world-record holder will return home tomorrow as originally planned, leaving Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla to start the Proteas’ ODI innings.

“We have to honour the guys we have. To change and manipulate now would be wrong. Let’s see it for what it is: Richard was picked for T20s and he’s delivered in one of them. It’s not a train smash, he has a whole career ahead of him,” Hudson said.

Although Levi is one the younger members of the squad at 24, and fellow debutant fast bowler Marchant de Lange is still only 21, there is a growing number of familiar faces returning to the squad. Justin Ontong and Albie Morkel lead the way here, forming the skeleton of the “middle-tier” players, like Hudson has described them.

“We have guys who are coming back, and they have played a lot of first-class cricket, they know their games. They know what they need to do, and a guy like Justin Ontong has gone about it magnificently,” he added.

“We might be building, but we don’t have a young side, neither do we have an ageing team. Our average age is 28.”

Hudson has also had to manage a rotation policy, mostly involving the senior players. Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn and Smith missed the T20 series in New Zealand, and Hudson believes this management decision will be mutually beneficial to the team as well as the individuals.

“We haven’t really consulted them, but we have to manage them well, with the amount of cricket being played this year. They would never be able to get through the volume of cricket if they had played all the games, and at the same time it is a fantastic opportunity for the youngsters,” he said.

The imminent return of Richard Levi to the top of the Cape Cobras' batting order is not going to restrain Stiaan van Zyl from playing his shots when the Cape side take on the Impi at Boland Park in Paarl tonight.

John Goliath

THE imminent return of Richard Levi to the top of the Cape Cobras’ batting order is not going to restrain Stiaan van Zyl from playing his shots when the Cape side take on the Impi at Boland Park in Paarl tonight.

While Levi had the spectators in New Zealand diving for cover last weekend, Van Zyl has been just as impressive for the Cobras in the opening berth during the Twenty20 Challenge

Van Zyl scored 58 in the tournament opener against the Warriors, and followed that up with a quick-fire 48 from 29 balls in Sunday’s tie with the Knights in Kimberley.

The blonde left-hander and his opening partner, stand-in captain, Andrew Puttick have shared opening stands of 99 and 83 in the first two games. But that partnership is sure to be broken up with Levi expected back in the country before the Cobras’ clash against the Lions in Johannesburg on Friday night.

Van Zyl is aware that Levi will slot straight back into the team. But he is not too bothered and is only looking forward to “having fun” out in the middle.

“Richard has to come straight back into the team because he is playing international cricket and he is in great form,” Van Zyl told the Cape Times yesterday. “But I’m not really thinking about that at the moment. I’m just happy to be playing at the moment and enjoying having fun out there.”

Van Zyl couldn’t make the Cobras’ T20 team last season, and didn’t feature in their triumphant run in the 1-Day Cup as well. The product of Boland Agricultural High School just outside Paarl has been viewed as more of a four-day player, while he has also battled with the likes of Levi, Herschelle Gibbs, Justin Ontong and JP Duminy for a spot in the side.

However, the talented Van Zyl has pulled out his full array of strokes in the T20 Challenge, particularly severe on anything drifting down the legside.

Van Zyl and Puttick will again strive to get the Cobras off to a good start, especially as the new ball will come on nicely in the powerplay overs. That will set up big hitters like Owais Shah and Mark Boucher to launch from a nice platform.

“Me and Andrew Puttick have been playing well up front and we have managed to get some good starts,” Van Zyl said. “A good opening partnership is crucial in T20 cricket, so that we can give the big hitters down the order the freedom to play their shots.

“We are not always going to provide that sort of platform. But we will certainly give it another go on Wednesday,” Van Zyl added.

Van Zyl said that they have prepared well for the tonight’s match against the relatively unknown Impi outfit. While most of the seventh franchise’s players don’t get a lot of game time at their provinces, there are players who Van Zyl has faced during the SuperSport Series, while the four international stars they will come up against are on television most of the time.

“We do our homework ahead of every match and I have seen a lot of their players, especially bowlers like Craig Alexander and Pumelela Matshikwe,” Van Zyl said. “I think it’s definitely going to be a great challenge for us, so we dare not underestimate the Impi.”

There has been lots of talk about the possible condition of the pitch for tonight’s encounter. Van Zyl would obviously like it to be conducive to shot-making, and he is hoping the ball comes on to the bat.

“I’m hoping for a good wicket so that the crowd can see a couple of long balls being hit. They have produced some good one-day pitches in Paarl so far this season, so we are hoping for a few more.”

"When he hit you, you stay hit."

Zaahier Adams

AUCKLAND: “When he hit you, you stay hit.” These were the words of Ernie Accorsi, general manager of the New York Giants, when speaking about great Chicago Bears middle linebacker and Hall of Famer Dick Butkus.

It is believed that opponents often had a deer-in-the-headlights look of fear when seeing the behemoth Butkus barrelling down on them.

The sheer panic in their eyes bears a close resemblance to the expression of fast bowlers when running in to bowl to South African Twenty20 sensation Richard Levi. It’s no wonder then that the Proteas’ American fielding coach, Mike Young, has given Levi the nickname “Butkus”, because when the 24-year-old hits a cricket ball, it certainly stays hit.

And on Sunday in Hamilton, Levi really showed the world that he could hit a cricket ball a long way, a really long way – and many times as well. He hit 13 sixes – a world record – and posted the quickest century in the history of T20 internationals, requiring just 45 balls to reach that mark.

One bowler who certainly knows what it is like bowling to Levi is Vernon Philander. The Proteas Test new-ball operator has been Levi’s franchise teammate since the former Wynberg Boys’ High prodigy swapped his khaki shorts for the blue flannels of the Cape Cobras six years ago.

Levi often talks about the “initiation” he received from Philander and fellow Cobras seamer Rory Kleinveldt when he first arrived at senior training sessions.

“Rors (Kleinveldt) and Vern really gave it to me, hey. Rors bounced the hell out of me, and Vern was just seaming it away. (They) made me look pretty stupid, and I knew whatever I had achieved at high school meant nothing. I was now in the big leagues.”

The admiration now seems to be on the other foot. Philander may be South Africa’s find of the summer in Test cricket with 30 wickets in four matches, but he knows bowling to Levi can be a nightmare experience.

“Richie handles pace very well, because he has such a presence at the crease. He uses space well by either moving deep or sideways to create his own lengths,” Philander explained. “When you’re bowling to Richie, whether it be in the nets or in the middle, you have to be up for a battle or you will travel.”

But does the muscular right-hander have limitations in his game that can be exploited, as it appears he lunges on the front foot before the ball is even delivered?

“Yes, he is front-foot-dominated,” Philander added. “But remember, this is one-day cricket. A fast bowler is only allowed one bouncer per over, and Richie knows that very well. And it’s not like he can’t play the short ball either. We saw what happened to Tim Southee when he got it wrong. And that’s his big strength. He has the ability to pick up the length of the ball very easily.

“Many teams try and tuck him up by bowling straight in order not to give him width to free his arms. This is a dangerous plan, because often they stray down the legside. Richie feeds off these loose balls, simply picking it off his pads for six.”

While Levi will never have the athleticism of gazelles like Justin Ontong and JP Duminy, Philander puts it in perspective: “He is a big boy, there’s no doubt about that. Those forearms are massive. But it’s not all power with Levi. It’s in his technique. He creates unbelievable bat speed, which allows him to lift the ball so easily. He is playing really well, and long may it continue for South Africa!”

I have a sweet tooth for Super Rugby.

Comment

Lots of people have asked the question this week why Zambia, with a tiny population and even fewer resources, could win the African Nations Cup and Bafana Bafana couldn't even qualify.

LOTS of people have asked the question this week why Zambia, with a tiny population and even fewer resources, could win the African Nations Cup and Bafana Bafana couldn’t even qualify.

Many theories were thrown about, including the fact that the Zambian Football Association is being run by former footballers, and for more spiritual reasons, including their coach saying “it was written in the stars” after the tragic loss of the class of 1993 just a few kilometres away from where they annexed the trophy on Sunday.

But the more I thought about it, the more I think the problem is our country’s playing personnel, and not the people running football or the resources that go into the game.

The South African Football Association, though, should first and foremost be held accountable for Bafana not qualifying because of dodgy maths and miscommunication.

Some of those dancing moves still manage to wake me up in the middle of the night, drenched in my own sweat. And I always find myself in the foetal position, much like goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune did that day, although I don’t do it on purpose.

I think we have a false perception of how good our players really are ... We have a wonderful football league, with lots of money and sponsors, but do we have the quality to compete overseas? I think not.

And an embarrassing example is the fact that two of whom we consider our best players went for trials at an English second division team and came back empty-handed. Our best striker has also been for trials in Europe, but his prospects of moving overseas are almost as good as the Heart Foundation endorsing a full-house gatsby.

To me, Teko Modise has been a PSL flat-track bully all his life. But to others, he is viewed as the best thing since, well, a full-house gatsby. However, on the world stage during the Confederations Cup and, more importantly, the World Cup, he was exposed for the vienna parcel he is.

You can argue that, even with the amount of talent they had at their disposal, Ivory Coast should have won the title and not Zambia.

But the fact is that Zambia had three players in their squad who finished as the top-scorer in the South African Premiership over the last decade, including captain Chris Katongo, who was the top-scorer after playing just half-a-season.

So, maybe we just don’t have the greatest generation of players at our disposal to compete on the world stage or even in Africa. Because if Bafana can’t beat “superpowers” like Sierra Leone and Niger, what chance do we have of winning the continental title?

Yes, Zambia’s Nations Cup triumph was fuelled by emotion and determination, but let’s not forget that they had some pretty good players on the park as well …

TWEETS OF THE WEEK

@piersmorgan (talk-show host and diehard Arsenal supporter after the Gunners’ Champions League nightmare at the San Siro): Total, utter, diabolical shambles - thanks to quite dreadful tactics. We need a new manager and a fresh start. #Arsenal

@piersmorgan: Let me spell it out for Arsenal fans blindly insisting Wenger has got a job for life: we don’t qualify for CL, @Persie_Official leaves.

@piersmorgan: And if Persie_Official leaves, the pack of cards falls, and we become a mid-table nonentity. Wenger’s done all he can for us. #Arsenal.

WHO TO FOLLOW

My childhood hero and former Tottenham and England legend @GaryLineker. The banter between Lineker and @piersmorgan gets a bit personal, but it’s also hilarious!

Twitter: @Anchorman82

p Send us your views – john.goliath@inl.co.za