Change of guard not over yet?

AB de Villiers has signalled the dawn of a new one-day international cricket dispensation for the Proteas when this energetic and vibrant captain led the South African team to two straight victories against Sri Lanka in the first two games of the five-game series. A number of questions regarding the personnel for the five-day version of the game however remain unanswered at this stage.

De Villiers also inherited the big gloves from Mark Boucher for the shortened version of the game. The question on everybody’s lips is whether Boucher, at age 35, will also be replaced as test-wicketkeeper.

And will Dane Vilas, Heino Kuhn or De Villiers be given the responsibility behind the stumps in the test-series against New Zealand starting in February?

When to retire

It is clear that for top sportsmen knowing when to retire is an art. Boucher has not mastered that art. And he is not the only one.

The Indian selectors might be forced to make some unpopular choices after the ageing Indian team stumbled to their seventh straight test defeat away from home.

The Indians suffered an innings defeat against Australia at the WACA in Perth. Australia defeated India by 122 runs in the first test in Melbourne. They trounced the Indians by an innings and 68 runs in Sydney, and then completed an innings and 37 runs-drubbing of MS Dhoni’s troops at the WACA in the third test.

England soundly beat India 4-0 at home and wrestled the number-1 ranking in test cricket from their grip in 2011.

India have lacked inspiration Down Under and their famous top-order has been below par.

Ian Chappell, a former Australian captain, has criticised the Indian selectors for their short-sightedness, saying they should have blooded some of the younger batsmen into the test team earlier.

Rohit Sharma and ViratKohli are two extremely gifted players, and Kohli was arguably their best batsman at the WACA. But Sharma has been carrying the drinks Down Under.

VVS Laxman (37), Sachin Tendulkar (38), Rahul Dravid (39) and Virender Sehwag (33) are some of the senior seasoned players in the Indian team.

Tendulkar’s position will not be scrutinised and Dravid’s position is also safe.

Dravid was the one batsman during the tour of England who excelled.  He was bowled through the proverbial gate five times in Australia, so he needs to sort out a technical hiccup, but he is good enough to fix it and return to his century-making.

Tendulkar has consistently looked in excellent form Down Under, but the pressure on him to score his hundredth international ton has undermined his efficiency.

Laxman might not survive for the final test against Australia at Adelaide.

Sehwag has been poor in Australia and looked flat-footed and listless.

Will the Indian selectors be bold enough to drop the sentimental favourite of millions of Indian fans, Laxman?

And, will the SA selectors also be prepared to hasten the international demise of Boucher (35) by replacing him as test wicketkeeper.

Steve Waugh, a former Australian captain, said during his tenure he wanted “to leave on my terms”. He eventually did, but Laxman and Boucher might not be afforded such luxury, and could be pushed out.

In Boucher’s case, the choice of De Villiers will give South Africa the opportunity to field another top-order batsman or an all-rounder. It is likely that JP Duminy will be offered another life-line to extend his test career for South Africa.

Talking about Duminy, he was one of the best-performing batsmen at Buffalo Park in East London, where South Africa won the second one-day international against Sri Lanka by five wickets. South Africa employed Duminy at number four in the order and moved De Villiers to number five.

Yet, Gary Kirsten’s decision to use De Villiers at number five, is baffling, to put it mildly.

Why experiment with De Villiers, one of the best one-day batsmen in the world, at number five, affording him just 15 overs of batting.

A golden rule of cricket is to use your best batsmen in the top-four so that they can get maximum opportunities to bat for extended periods.

Denying De Villiers that opportunity, puts pressure on the SA top-order, and will only serve to frustrate De Villiers.

It was a poor option by Kirsten, and one he will hopefully rectify earlier rather than later.

Graeme Smith has been an automatic choice in the SA one-day team for nine years. How long will his honeymoon last? His average during his past 10 innings is a tad over 22. He has been given an extended run, but he is testing the patience of the national selection committee and the supporters.

Are the selectors deliberately looking the other way while he stumbles to another poor contribution?

Incidentally, the decision to rest Jacques Kallis and to give Hashim Amla the opportunity to be with his family for the birth of his first child, will offer Alviro Petersen and Colin Ingram new opportunities to excel.

The South Africa middle-order will remain under scrutiny for the remainder of the series in Bloemfontein, Kimberly and Johannesburg. The middle-order wobble in Paarl and East London against the hostile and fiery Lasith Malinga again underlined South Africa’s tendency to implode when under pressure.

The performance by the fast bowlers should be celebrated. Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Morné Morkel were sensational in Paarl and good in East London.

Earlier, in the test series, Vernon Philander, Marchant de Lange and Dale Steyn were simply superb.

South Africa’s depth of fast bowling resources, like that of Australia, has added a new dimension to international cricket.

Both selection panels will face enormous challenges when asked to pick their final 11 players for their next international fixture.