Cricket
Great anticipation as AB returns in whites
Almost two years out, the question is who's going to be sacrificed
"I'm really happy that's not my job; it's going to be a nightmare," Kruger van Wyk said this week. "Good luck to you, Mr Gibson."
Van Wyk wasn't doubting Ottis Gibson's ability to guide South Africa to victory over Zimbabwe in the Boxing Day test match at St George's Park.
That's likely to be more easily achieved than what Van Wyk was on about: fitting AB de Villiers into South Africa's team.Outrageous, isn't it, that we should wrestle with finding a place for this generation's finest smiter of a cricket ball? The simpler, better, faster question must be who will make way for De Villiers.
If only the answer was as obvious.
Temba Bavuma has been steady rather than spectacular for most of his 26 tests, playing important innings that fly under the radar because most of them aren't 50s or hundreds. But, if a batsman has to go to accommodate De Villiers, Bavuma is the prime candidate.
Andile Phehlukwayo made a decent start to his test career against Bangladesh in September and October, and merits a crack against Zimbabwe.
But, if a bowler is to be sacrificed to make room, he's the one.That Bavuma and Phehlukwayo are black Africans won't be lost on anyone keeping an eye on this complex story.
Van Wyk, the former Titans and New Zealand wicketkeeper who is now Tuks' head of cricket, is a significant part of the puzzle. He and De Villiers are Affies alumni and former Titans teammates, and it was on Van Wyk's door that De Villiers knocked, "around May, maybe a little bit later, and said he just wanted to work on his game".
A player of no mean ability himself, Van Wyk was honest with his new charge.
"I said, 'You're most welcome to come but it's going to be pretty hard for me to teach you anything'," he said.
"AB came, and there was no reinventing the wheel. He worked extremely hard.
"Every day he turned up with something specific he wanted to work on and spent a lot of time on it, and the intensity was really good. And that was day in and day out.
"The environment was peaceful and quiet, and he could get down to what he wanted to do."..
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