Proteas beset with impatience
When Axl Rose sang, All we need is just a little patience, he wasn’t thinking about Test cricket, but it is sound advice for anyone with aspirations of success in the ultimate format.
26 opening batsmen since Smith, Strauss
Andrew Strauss and Graeme Smith retired from Test cricket in 2012 and 2014, respectively. England and South Africa have appreciated some consistency from Alastair Cook and Dean Elgar since Strauss and Smith’s exits, but more than two dozen other opening partners have been tried and tested.
Time for transformation rethink
The appointment of former Proteas Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher to prominent roles surrounding the national team has drawn criticism from politicians who feel the trio are emblematic of resistance to transformation in South African cricket.
New year’s wishes for the Proteas
The Proteas will head into 2020 determined to recover from the problems of 2019.
Pretorius a huge asset for Test XI
Dwaine Pretorius is not the most fashionable cricketer the Proteas have ever picked, but he could just be the player Mark Boucher’s team needs to tip the scales in their favour.
How Philander was more than good enough
Vernon Philander will call time on his career after the series against England and has proven to himself and his doubters that he was more than good enough to play Test cricket.
Five questions the Proteas must answer
A lot has happened around the Proteas set-up in the lead-up to the series against England, but very little on the field.
Morris’ Test career wasn’t a failure
It is easy to look back on the Test career of Chris Morris and label it a failed experiment, but doing so suggests that some thought was put into his respective call-ups.
Hamza – secret weapon or weakest link?
Zubayr Hamza’s 62 off 79 balls in the third Test against India in Ranchi offered a glimpse of what the Cape Cobras batsman has to offer, while also making it clear he still has progress to make as an international cricketer.
Smith judgement haunts De Bruyn
When Theunis de Bruyn got out cheaply on day five of the first Test against India earlier this year, Graeme Smith didn’t hold back in his criticism of the batsman. Now that Smith is the director of cricket, De Bruyn has been dropped from the Test team.
New issue: Why De Kock must bat at 4
Mercurial playmaker Quinton de Kock is on the new cover of SA Cricket magazine, on sale now!
Squeeze Linde, Maharaj into same Test XI
Spin-bowling all-rounder George Linde made a surprise Test debut in India when Keshav Maharaj was ruled out with a shoulder injury, but could the two ever play in the same Test XI?
Kallis vs Stokes – the tortoise and hare
South Africa’s greatest-ever all-rounder, Jacques Kallis, isn’t always a valid yardstick for measuring other cricketers, but when it comes to Ben Stokes, even greats are fair game.
CSA’s timeline of woe
Some of events in which CSA made the headlines for all the wrong reasons this year.
Bumper preview: Mzansi Super League
A tournament beset by early problems is heading into an all-important second edition, writes Jonhenry Wilson in SA Cricket magazine.
