KHALID MOHIDIN looks at the different ways the Proteas could line up in England and picks his controversial World Cup. 

For the first time in World Cup history, there are no expectations on the shoulders of the Proteas. High hopes follow India and England as favourites to win the tournament in England. There are no stars that jump out at you when you look at the Proteas’ last three squads that were selected – apart from Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis.

Some of my selections might seem brutal and slightly disrespectful, but we are in a World Cup year, and if we want to win, we can’t shy away from making the hard decisions.

Let’s start at the top. Hashim Amla was meant to stand out as the Proteas’ stalwart, but his current form has seen him drop out of quite a few proposed starting XIs. Class is permanent as many may say, but Amla’s average has gradually declined over the years. I can’t see why the selectors will stick with a man who is on the decline as their first name on the teamsheet. He went from scoring at an average of 57 in the first half of his ODI career to what it is now (49.74). His form hasn’t turned around for the Cobras either and he looked awfully lacklustre in their last game on Tuesday before the World Cup announcement on Thursday. He was given compassionate leave for the series against Sri Lanka. He hasn’t been himself since his return. In his last 10 innings he has scored 150 runs at an average of 15. Nonetheless, his experience in the dressing room would be priceless and CSA might not take the risk by leaving out a legend.

Aiden Markram was dropped from the Proteas squad for the Sri Lanka series in March. He responded in the best way possible, scoring consecutive centuries in the One-Day Cup. This has put him back in the conversation for a ticket to England. He is also currently playing for Hampshire, trying to get used to the conditions in England.

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The two main issues the Proteas need cover for are a batting collapse and finding players to bowl the full 50 overs. Currently, we are not short of bowlers, so finding four players to share 40 overs between them isn’t the issue. That will leave two players to share five overs apiece. This highlights the Proteas ongoing hunt for quality all-rounders.

JP Duminy’s selection might cause a stir based on the title of this column, but there are no other in-form batting spinners in the country, apart from George Linde who I picked for the squad. The ‘picking based on form’ only applies to positions where there are a lot of players competing for the same spot.

Let’s look at the Proteas’ options when it comes to structure for the World Cup. I will use the players I believe the Proteas will pick for the tournament.

Proposed World Cup squad: 

1) Quinton de Kock (wk)
2) Hashim Amla
3) Faf du Plessis (c)
4) Rassie van der Dussen
5) David Miller (back up wk)
6) JP Duminy
7) Andile Phehulkwayo
8) Dale Steyn
9) Kagiso Rabada
10) Lungi Ngidi
11) Imran Tahir
12) Dwaine Pretorius
13) Aiden Markram
14) Anrich Nortje
15) Tabraiz Shamsi

SIX-ONE-FOUR

Two all-rounders are essential in this case, and counting JP Duminy as a batting all-rounder seems like South Africa’s best option. Having two spinners in a side goes a long way to restricting the opposition in the limited-overs format. He can share the bowling duties with Andile Phehlukwayo, who is undoubtedly the first-choice all-rounder in the country.

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1) Quinton de Kock
2) Aiden Markram/Hashim Amla
3) Faf du Plessis
4) Rassie van der Dussen
5) David Miller
6) JP Duminy (extra spinner) (5-8 overs)
7) Andile Phehlukwayo (5-8 overs)
8) Kagiso Rabada (10 overs)
9) Anrich Nortje/Dale Steyn (10 overs)
10) Lungi Ngidi (10 overs)
11) Imran Tahir (10 overs)

FIVE-TWO-FOUR

Five batsmen, two all-rounders and four specialist bowlers: this is ideal when a side can bat deep. This is not necessary with Duminy as an extra spinner, as he can fill an all-rounder’s shoes, but if he is selected as a batsman only, then here is how they could set up. In this system, the Proteas’ top order will need to step up and the bowlers will need to bowl out the opposition every time.

1) Quinton de Kock
2) Aiden Markram/Hashim Amla
3) Faf du Plessis
4) Rassie van der Dussen
5) JP Duminy
6) Dwaine Pretorius (5-8 overs)
7) Andile Phehlukwayo (5-8 overs)
8) Kagiso Rabada (10 overs)
9) Anrich Nortje (10 overs)
10) Lungi Ngidi (10 overs)
11) Imran Tahir (10 overs)

SEVEN–ONE–THREE

Seven batsmen, one all-rounder and three bowlers: This covers the Proteas’ batting woes, but puts extra pressure on the Proteas’ strike bowlers. It would also add a larger workload on Duminy, who will need to bowl 10 overs, while Phehulkwayo will also need to bowl a full 10 overs.

1) Quinton de Kock
2) Aiden Markram/Hashim Amla
3) Reeza Hendricks
4) Faf du Plessis
5) Rassie van der Dussen
6) JP Duminy (10 overs)
7) David Miller
8) Andile Phehlukwayo (10 overs)
9) Kagiso Rabada (10 overs)
10) Lungi Ngidi (10 overs)
11) Imran Tahir (10 overs)

The following squad covers all possible systems and is the squad I would pick for the World Cup:  

Note: I have picked two Cobras players in my XV. This was after a conversation I had with Ashwell Prince, who stressed the importance of having a backup wicketkeeper and a batting spinner in the side.

George Linde jumps out as a batting spinner. Kyle Verreyne has proved his worth under pressure for his franchise. He is the perfect replacement for De Kock as he has shown last season, winning Newcomer of the Year at the CSA awards, and this season in the 4-Day Franchise Series and the One-Day Cup. Sinethemba Qeshile has also turned heads, but I feel he needs another season to prove his ability.

My World Cup XV: 

1) Quinton de Kock
2) Aiden Markram
3) Faf du Plessis
4) Rassie van der Dussen
5) David Miller
6) JP Duminy (extra spinner)
7) Andile Phehlukwayo
8) Kagiso Rabada
9) Dale Steyn
10) Lungi Ngidi
11) Imran Tahir
12) Anrich Nortje
13) Kyle Verreynne (back-up keeper)
14) Dwaine Pretorius
15) George Linde (batting spinner)

Photo by Shaun Roy/Gallo Images