March has been a revealing month for Proteas selection convenor Linda Zondi.
With the 50-over segment of SA's domestic season coming to an end today when the Titans host the Dolphins in the Momentum 1-Day Cup final at SuperSport Park in Centurion, Zondi clears up a few remaining cobwebs from SA's long ODI summer.
ACHIEVEMENT OF MOMENTUM 1-DAY CUP OBJECTIVES
"It has achieved it's objectives and more importantly, it has given us credibility in terms of the players that we left out, went back to the franchises and performed. We've seen guys score some very good hundreds and have seen some young players showcase some great skills. Look at how Cape Cobras keeper Kyle Verreyne and Sine Qeshile have come along this season. From a post-Cricket World Cup perspective, it looks like we're in decent shape. Having the Proteas playing in the tournament while also vying for World Cup spots also helped."
SOLVING OF BATTING ISSUES
"Absolutely. You don't have guys who wake up and score hundreds. The guys who made tons also scored quite quickly, which is what's required at international level. I'm very happy right now and I'm going to be at today's final but the standards have improved."
THE UNEXPECTED COMPETITIVENESS OF THE 1-DAY CUP AND WHETHER IT ANSWERED MORE QUESTIONS
"It's a bit of both but it also depends on how you look at it. From an ODI perspective, Pakistan gave us a very good test and Sri Lanka also played reasonably well.
One thing though, we said during the Australia series that the Sri Lankan engagement was going to be the last series in terms of our World Cup planning. Injuries have dealt us some blows while some performances fluctuated through the series and the domestic tournament. The 1-Day Cup has definitely helped and I think we're 99% certain in terms of finalising our World Cup squad."
DWAINE PRETORIUS AND HIS LATE BATTING PUSH FOR THE HIGHVELD LIONS AND THE PROTEAS
"There were certain players during the summer who didn't get an opportunity to bat and Pretorius was one of those. That delayed our processes and we tried to use the T20s as a platform for them. We did say we'd use the T20 series as a blooding platform and in this case it worked in our favour. He was promoted to No 3 and he made the most of it."
AIDEN MARKRAM AND THE TRANSFERENCE OF DOMESTIC FORM INTO THE NATIONAL TEAM
"I wouldn't say it wasn't a good series to have because of the margin. The top guys did well but we were uncomfortable with the middle order and their lack of tangible batting time.
We were caught in the middle in terms of shuffling the batting but some individuals came through. The bonus with Markram was not only how well he performed for the Titans, but how superbly he batted in different positions. There are difficult calls that will have to be made from a batting unit composition perspective but we're clear in other departments."
TABRAIZ SHAMSI AND THE SECOND SPINNER CONUNDRUM FOR BATTING-FRIENDLY CONDITIONS IN ENGLAND
"He's done well and it's very good to have a second spinner who is a wrist spinner. The challenge facing us is a batting one from the spinners.
That exposes our batting depth when we need to play two spinners, placing more emphasis on the choice of the batting and bowling all-rounder."
APRIL 18 READINESS (WORLD CUP SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT)
"Yes, but there's some domestic T20 cricket that's going to take place sometime in April that may have a final influence in some calls that have to be made. However, we'll take it from there."
WORLD CUP BOLTERS
"(Chuckles). We'll have to see if there will be any surprises because there's still time."..