Walter engages in careful juggling act as Proteas create opportunities for new players

Cricket SA (CSA) celebrated an R815m profit for the past financial year, but part of the reason is less cricket being played domestically. 

The effect has been a further depreciation in the standard of provincial cricket, creating players of lesser quality than in previous generations, which has forced director of cricket Enoch Nkwe and the coaches of the Proteas men's teams, Shukri Conrad (Tests) and Rob Walter (ODIs and T20s) to box clever. 

Rather than be the end of the line for the best players in the country, the Proteas are now also part of the development structure — outside World Cups or ICC events such as the Champions Trophy.

“There will always be a difference between domestic cricket and international cricket,” Walter said on Monday.

“We were in a position where we play fewer games [domestically], so there are less playing opportunities. There aren’t many things you improve at by doing less of it, so we are trying to find opportunities for guys to do more.”

CSA was forced to shrink the domestic schedule because of the Covid-19 pandemic to save money, while the knock-on effects of the organisation’s continuing struggle — until recently — to sign up more sponsors has further hindered the ability to have a busier provincial programme.

All three Division 1 competitions for the new season will consist of a single round of matches, with limited-overs tournaments having play-off series, while there will again be a five-day final to conclude the four-day competition.

There are no sponsors for the domestic competitions.

CSA has used more money to support the SA A programme which is seen a crucial to bridging the gap between domestic cricket and the international level. 

The SA A team is involved in a series of matches against Sri Lanka A. They toured the same country last year and also hosted a West Indies A team — which contained many of its current Test team including Shamar Joseph — last summer. 

Citing 21-year-old Andile Simelane as an example, Walter described his inclusion in the Proteas squad for the ODI series with Afghanistan and the T20 series with Ireland later this month as a chance to accelerate his development. 

“We are doing our best to identify series where we can take what I call our high-potential players and expose them to international cricket and the Proteas environment,” said Walter.

“The performances of young guys who come into the Proteas team suggests domestic cricket’s standard is not what is required at international level.”   

This year Nqaba Peter and Kwena Maphaka have been called into the Proteas for the same reason and Simelane, who impressed Walter during a training match against the Proteas before this year’s T20 World Cup, is the latest beneficiary of CSA’s creative selection policy.

He’s not expected to play in the ODIs, though if there are injuries in the T20s he may get a run. Walter, Conrad and Nkwe are trying to create more chances for young players and do so in matches which are of a higher quality than they are getting at provincial level.

“This Afghanistan series was not in the calendar, but arranging it is a deliberate effort to get more fixtures and try to bridge the gap with international cricket,” said Walter. 

While juggling the development of younger players, Walter must also increase the depth of talent available to him when he has to pick squads for World Cups. The next big event on the horizon is February’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

“The reality is we can’t rely on one group of players to win games for South Africa. The only way to figure out if they are good enough is to expose them to international competition. We are broadening the base of players, we don’t want to spread the net too wide. The only way to know and grow is to keep exposing players — the balance is a tough one, but we are trying to get that right.”

The squads for the series against the Afghans and Irish don’t contain David Miller, Kagiso Rabada or Heinrich Klaasen. 

Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen are also absent as they continue their respective conditioning programmes, while T20 captain Aiden Markram will miss the ODIs against the Irish to give him a break before the Proteas' Test tour to Bangladesh.