It's not about choking

Sometimes I wonder if South African cricket fans want the Proteas to choke. I am certain there are sections of the media who do – it generates lots of controversy, lots of stories, lots of sensation – IPSO FACTO lots of sales.

In the build-up to this World Cup, there has been an emphasis, in cricket circles, on avoiding the C world and avoiding any debate about it. But that is no easy thing to do when you are sent on your way with headlines all over the place alluding to that.

South Africans, by and large – well sports followers anyway – are a pessimistic bunch. They always expect the worst while hoping for the best.

In a way that’s a win-win for the fans because, if their teams lose, they are unsurprised. If their teams win, they can celebrate that much harder.

But when mention of choking comes up on the day AB de Villiers and his team are due to leave, then you have to wonder if there is a secret delight in the prospect of the Proteas disintegrating in a hapless heap.

But there’s an elephant in the room that everyone is trying to ignore. The bare facts are that if this team does not do well at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, it will be because the team is not a very good one, not because they will choke.

There are vulnerabilities that have been widely discussed and I truly believe players like Wayne Parnell and, dare I say it, Vernon Philander, are going to find the going very tough –not to mention left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso.

The World Cup demands not only an ability to perform the skill for which you have been chosen. It demands a mind as tough as teak, an unshakeable self belief plus  some of that elusive  X factor.

AB de Villiers has that X factor, Hashim Amla has that will of steel, as does JP Duminy who, in my opinion, is going to be one of our most important players over there. David Miller also has the X-factor – by the cartload.

JP might have a bit of that X-facotr but, if he doesn’t, he makes up for with his true grit.

I am betting on him to be one of the Proteas success stories at this tournament.

There’s something compelling about JP.

When you look at him, you see a calm, cool and steady gaze from a face set a little like that of  a street fighter – tough, uncompromising.

If I was going into battle, JP would be my first choice to be at my side. His value is, if you’ll pardon the verbal gymnastics, is undervalued.

So it’s of great value to South Africa that he is at number six or seven in the batting order; and if he bowls, he is more likely to keep his cool in the face of an onslaught, than bowlers such as  Parnell and even Morne Morkel. If SA are under the pump batting wise, JP is the player most likely to launch a fightback.

Our vulnerabilities? Well, it would be nice to see Faf du Plessis contributing more often. His situation reminds me so much of the position  Jacques Kallis was in when South Africa were looking for a No 3 back in the late 1990s.

For Western Province, Kallis had been a free-flowing, attractive batsman to watch at the start of his career. When he was given the burden of No 3, the responsibility changed his approach dramatically and the free-flowing, stroke-making Kallis of the past emerged only rarely.

That hundred Faf made in the second T20 against the West Indies was a remarkable knock and offered a glimpse of what he is capable of. If he could play like that consistently at the World Cup then he, Amla, De Villiers and David Miller could wreak havoc. But there’s a question….will he?

If newbie Rilee Rossouw is given the No 3 berth, and Amla opens with Quinton de Kock, then Faf could slide down the over depending on each given situation. That could be the best thing for him.

Then there is the bowling, which is clearly a cause for concern.

Philander who bowls at speeds ranging from the late 120kms to the middle 130kms an hour, is too slow for the World Cup. If he gets so-called sporty wickets which offer seam movement, he is able to wreak havoc.

But ODI pitches are characteristically flat and unresponsive. On those he will be taken apart.  The thinking might be that he will do a job in New Zealand, where tracks could be more responsive to good seam bowling in spite of efforts to make them flat. But two of the pool games the Proteas will play in New Zealand are against the UAE and Zimbabwe. Philander would be expected to take wickets against them on any pitch so that thinking is flawed.

I believe taking him instead of someone with outright pace, such as  Marchant de Lange, has been  a mistake.

The fifth bowler conundrum has been debated over and over again. It appears Duminy and Farhaan Behardien will be the two halves of that bowler and that is where South Africa could hemorrhage runs. If the fifth bowler duties were shared by Duminy and De Lange, I would feel far more comfortable.

On the other hand, Behardien might South Africa’s surprise package. His batting is getting better and better, he does swing the ball – even if it is only at 120km/h -- and his value as an outfielder is beyond dispute. He excelled in that department against the West Indies.

But  I think any seam or swing bowler who cannot maintain speeds of at least 135-140km/h is going to be very vulnerable. After all, not everyone is a Chris Harris, the Kiwi who drove batsmen mad with his curious slow. Looping dibbly dobbly deliveries in the 1990s.

If the Proteas prosper at the World Cup, it will be because of their batting. If they falter and fail, it won’t be for choking, it will be for a lack all-round strength.

So let’s give them a break from the C world and see things for what they really are.