World Cup- CSA: Introducing The New While Older Players Rest
The 50-over World Cup 2011 is round the corner, as Cricket South Africa (CSA) looks to find the best available combination for the tournament. The CSA has decided to give senior players a chance to rest and recover from injury, players such as all-rounder
Jacques Kallis and fast bowler http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dale-c52110 Steyn, these two are important cricketers in the 50-over format and the CSA management is trying to manage them with utmost care for the ICC World Cup 2011. On the contrary, new talents will be given a chance to prove their
credentials, which include Colin Ingram who has been, rewarded the position based on his performances in domestic cricket.
Kallis picked up a neck injury in the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) 2010, and on the advice of the South African medical team he has withdrawn from the tournament. CSA selection convener Andrew Hudson says, “they are two key players ( Kallis
and Steyn) for the ICC World Cup next year and we need to manage them carefully”, also adding, “ the next ICC World Twenty20 is 18 months away and this also provides us the opportunity to look at several younger players”.
Hudson believes that Ingram's recent performance in domestic cricket and the Champions League is outstanding. And that he surely deserves a chance in the national side. Ingram played brilliantly in both MTN40 and Standard Bank Pro20 competitions. The 25
year old topped the batting charts in both of the domestic tournaments, in MTN40 he scored 600 runs at an average of 60, including one century and 5 half centuries with a commendable strike rate of 103.62. His 2010 Pro20 scores are impressive as well as the
fact that he scored 283 runs at an average of 47.16 and a strike rate of 144.38. His CLT20 team the Warriors won both domestic tournaments.
Also known as Bozie, Ingram is a left-hand dasher, who made his first class debut in 2004/5 as he played his first match for the Warriors. He is considered to be the brightest talents produced by Eastern Cape in recent times. He brings a bracing brand of
aggression to opening the batting, and took his game to the next level when he scored 85 off 111 balls to guide South Africa A to victory over Pakistan A in Colombo, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, in the first match of a tri-series that also included Sri Lanka A.
Besides the test squad, Ingram has been included in all of the 20 and 50 over matches against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 and Pakistan. On the other hand, fast bowler Rusty Theron and left-arm sipnner Robin Peterson have marked their place in the twenty20 squad but not the
one-day international (ODI) team. Not to forget that Theron was part of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 but did not get the chance to play a single game. While, fast bowler Wayne Parnell has been included in all three squads
after recovering from his injury. Wicket-keeper Heino Kuhn has taken the injured AB de Villiers’ place for the 20 over match series against Zimbabwe. But De Villiers is expected to be fit for the ODI series against Zimbabwe on the 15th of October.
Hudson says, “We only have a relatively small number of ODIs before the World Cup and it is our intention to go with our strongest combination in all these matches”.
CSA preparations for the upcoming ICC World Cup look to be in good hands. Giving senior players sometime off will surely pay off. Since, their inclusion in the 50-over tournament will make a huge difference in the end result. Meanwhile, young Colin Ingram
would be tested in the near future as he tries to consolidate a place in the South African World Cup squad. Facing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 and Zimbabwe would be a good learning curve for this youngster. One will have to wait and see as time would be a better judge on the
course of action taken by CSA management towards the World Cup 2011.
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