Who do you drop for AB?
Who do you drop for AB is a discussion that will no doubt intensify and get animated over the course of the summer…
|||House of Curries on Florida Road, Durban, has hosted many a heated sporting debate, usually inspired by equal parts cold beverages and the culinary staple for which the establishment is renowned.
On Wednesday night, as the Kingsmead lights finally dimmed and the next morning’s headlines were applying an urgent touch of back-page gloss to salute David Miller, a cackle of sports writers engaged in a mighty House of Curries debate, too.
Alas, the last of the chicken and lamb savoury nectar had run dry for the night, but the taps at the bar were still in business.
And so, a discussion that will no doubt intensify over the course of the summer erupted, as we looked to answer the most intriguing question about the South African middle-order at the moment.
Who do you drop for AB? A week ago, the selectors surprised us at The Wanderers with the question: “Who do you drop for Hashim Amla’s mandatory return?”
The suits went the other way and put Amla in a carguard vest, rather than stop the freight train that was Rilee Rossouw atop the order.
It stunned many, even in the Proteas dressing room, but it illustrated the fact that South Africa’s batting stocks are far from parched, even with the best-seller currently off the market.
In De Villiers’ absence, though, South Africa have seen several encouraging signs.
Quinton de Kock batting, well, with anyone at the moment, is a serious duo. De Kock is recently married and he is currently batting as if he is still on a Mauritian beach, clubbing giant beach balls into the glistening azure.
There is not a care in the world, but there is not a scare, either.
As the Debating Team of House of Curries concurred, we do need to temper our titillation with a sprinkle of sensibility.
This Aussie bowling card, apart from the nagging, ragging Adam Zampa, would struggle to be net bowlers when the full complement of Baggy Green leather flingers are lined up.
De Kock and Co have been feasting on a buffet of consistent mediocrity but one still has to wipe their plate clean, which they have with gusto.
Amla always looks like he will make a million, and someone will catch it from him soon.
Rossouw, famished after a winter away, has been ravenous.
Du Plessis has been measured, and continues to offer an intriguing leadership alternative for the selectors.’
He beamed with the pride of a dad watching his son come of age on Wednesday night as he sat next to Miller at the press call. He maintained that the Proteas are not the finished article, even as Miller spoke about the pride of doing what a finisher is supposed to do, finish and klaar.
The long overdue emergence of bowlers who can bat, such as Chris Morris, Dwaine Pretorius, Wayne Parnell and now, Andile Phehlukwayo, has allowed those above them to bat with a whiff of the cavalier, meaning no target is truly safe anymore.
These are deliciously promising times for the Proteas’ middle-order because batting deep and powerfully is what wins the matches that matter.
The Windies have made it a point to have ammunition as far down the order as possible, and so have England.The Proteas have it, too, it seems, and how they manage that over the next eight months before the Champions Trophy will be fascinating.
And at some point, they will have to find space for the best batsmen in the world.
Who do you drop for AB? De Kock, Amla, Du Plessis – undroppable, or so we think. Rossouw and Miller, revitalised and rampant. JP Duminy, versatile and experienced.
So, then, who? It is a question that was left unanswered on Wednesday night as the cackle of scribes moved on to debating the merits of disabled toilets and international half-backs.
But the selectors don’t have the luxury of shouldering arms to a compelling matter. Who do you drop for AB? It is a spicy little question, isn’t it?