SA lacks golden thread to stitch it all together

10 December 2014 - 02:23 By Telford Vice
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"The only player the Proteas need is a top-notch all-rounder," says Graeme Ford, the man who took the Proteas to the 1999 Cricket World Cup semifinal.

"We had Nicky Bojé batting at No10 and he could score hundreds. South Africa don't have that any more, and they don't have the luxury of being able to balance the side like we did when we had the likes of Jacques Kallis and Shaun Pollock.

"Instead, they will have to rely on specialist performances."

A runout was all that stopped Ford from taking his team to a World Cup final. But, 15 years after Allan Donald and Lance Klusener lost the plot in that semifinal against Australia at Edgbaston, Ford has regained his sense of humour.

Asked what the team needed to do to succeed at the 2015 World Cup, Ford said: "Draft in Willem Alberts, Willie le Roux and Victor Matfield."

The three Springboks starred in their side's triumph over the Proteas in a fundraising exercise at the Wanderers on Friday, which might have served to take the edge off South Africa's 4-1 drubbing in the one-day series in Australia last month.

That drubbing can largely be pinned on an underperforming middle order.

Ryan McLaren, the designated all-rounder, scraped together 14 runs in three visits to the crease. He also struggled with the ball, taking one wicket .

In 41 ODI innings he has finished not out 15 times and scored at better than a run a ball on a dozen occasions. But he has made more than 30 only twice.

The side that tied that Edgbaston semifinal was studded with all-rounders - Hansie Cronje, Kallis, Pollock, Lance Klusener and Mark Boucher.

And they still could not get the job done.

Calling Messrs. Alberts, Le Roux and Matfield.

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