Take Lessons From The Past

The followers of South African cricket can be forgiven for thinking that just maybe it was Benkensteinwho was supposed to be in theProtea squad, and not the other guy, er...what’s his name.. Kent.

Just browsing through the statistics for the domestic limited overs competition, one can’t help looking at comparative figures in the teamthat has won both the last two trophies. What really sticks out like a poor selectionis the fact that Dale Benkenstein has played 11 times andaverages 52.42 and then has also bowled a bit and taken 10 wickets at 21.80.

He has scored three half centuries and has a best bowling return of 3 for 11. It just so happens that as captain, his team has won just about everymatch they’ve played over the last two years.

Now in the same team, Jon Kent, who has been injured and ill at times, has managed to average 30.66 with a top score of 59 in exactly the same numberof innings as Benkenstein. Amazingly, they have both taken the same number of wickets, except that Kent averages32.30 but is 75 less expensive.

While Kent has a bowling strike rate of 44.50, his skipper has one of 24.50. Something else quite noticeable is that Benkenstein has been not out 4times and Kent twice. Benkenstein always bats ahead of Kent.

It would not be the first time this season that the selection panel has called the wrong names out;let's wait and see if there is a correction.

Mind you, I don’t think they are aware of Benkenstein’s performances so probablythe announcement is correct.

Oh yes, I forgot, the game is being played at Durban, that’s where Benkensteinhas been playing for almost 10 years -- definitely not in the Cape!

Getting to the selection of Haywood, well that is now an intriguing move.

We all know that he is the fastest bowler in South Africa when he is fit, andthe attempt to get him on the park for the Test series was given lots of media attention recently. However, his coach tells me that he hasn’tplayed in a match for over a month, never mind the policy of a player firstundergoing some match fitness assessment before being selected.

I feel desperately sorry for someone like Dippenaar, who is a "Mr Niceguy"and will bat anywhere just to get a game. For saying, "yes" to opening the batting, he was suddenly left out in his hometown. The last thing we mustnow hear is that Kent is selected on the basis of the game being played in Durban!

Lets face the real issue here, the Australian team is a good one and it has the all-round balance and depth to beat the current South African squadmore often than not.

Our cricket system in South Africa has received a rude and timely wakeup call. While we have been living in total denial for sometime, believing that our school, club, provincial and international system is ina good healthy state, the clock has ticked on.

Suddenly we find we are way off the pace and now want to institute a quick-fix system. Drop the coach, axethe captain, fire the convener are all knee-jerk reactions to a very traumatic six months of hell for all the role-players of the cricketsystem in South Africa.

With three LOI’s to go, the only two things to be gained are a drawn seriesand a three wins in a row against Australia. Those reasons are motivation enough for any team and must be the priority starting from tomorrow.

We should never forget that winning can become a habit and somehow we need toend this habit. It will not be done by just one or two great performances from individual players. It has to be a team thing.

Past successful South African teams have built their game around a core covenant that included humility, hard work, passion for success, respectfor the game and the opposition, accountability and the ability to adapt.

These cornerstones were, in all probability, part of cricket in the 1970 era butwere unfortunately lost through no fault of any cricketers. They were re-instituted after much trial and error by teams selected to representthe United Cricket Board, speaking of which, only 51 players have been selected in ten years.

How many of those players are currently involved in assisting the Protea "system" to achieve the objectives of theUCB?

Oh yes, what’s happened to Justin Ontong and Jacques Rudolph. They went on tour to Australia and were in the mix at one stage-- maybe they dropped thedrinks tray -- or worse, they forgot the jelly babies in the change room.

The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind!