Graeme Smith emulates Mark Twain

South Africa would have mixed emotions about the series win against Sri Lanka in the one-day internationals.The sustained excellence of AB de Villiers and good performances by LonwaboTsotsobe as well as the resurrection of Graeme Smith would surely be celebrated. But the Proteas still have some fine tuning to do in their approach to one-day internationals.

De Villiers was superb with the bat, Tsotsobe continued to impress in the shortened version of the game with his mixed bag of lively bouncers and off-cutters and Morné Morkel also did not disgrace himself with the ball.

Smith averaged 32.80 in one-day internationals in 2010 and 27.93 in 2011. He scored 36 runs in his first three one-day internationals against Sri Lanka.

Some journalists, including this columnist, were calling for his head.

Smith reacted by saying, in the immortal words of Mark Twain (when he read about his death in a newspaper-column): “The reports of my death are slightly exaggerated.”

The former national captain scored 68 and 125 in his two final one-day internationals.

Unfortunately, South Africa could not sustain their momentum in the final two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka, slumping to defeats in Kimberly and Johannesburg.

What is more alarming, is that they could not defend 299 and 312 in their final two one-day internationals.

Johan Botha

Perhaps the baffling decision by management to rest Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn and to drop Johan Botha had much to do with the poor performance by the SA bowlers.

Botha has proved himself as one of the best off-spinners in world cricket in the shortened format of the game, yet he was overlooked in all five games.

Kallis and Steyn were rested because South Africa are concerned about the work-load of these players, who will tour New Zealand, England and Australia in 2012 and play in the Indian Premier League.

But surely, South Africa could have rested them in some domestic games before the tour of New Zealand.

And what message do you convey to the public, who buy tickets for games in Kimberly and the Wanderers. Something like: we are fielding an experimental team, but please invest in a R200-ticket.

Mike Procter, a former SA coach, had a real go at the selectors for opting for this route.

Botha is a much more potent spinner in the shortened format of the game than Robin Peterson, who admittedly finished strongly at the Wanderers and almost won it for the Proteas in the final over.

Yet for all his fighting qualities, Peterson is not in the same class as a one-day bowler as Botha.

South Africa still have some fine tuning to do in one-day internationals in terms of the finishing abilities by the middle order, and the bowling as a collective unit.

In the fourth one-day international, the Proteas added only 57 runs in the final 11.2 overs with seven wickets standing.

In Paarl, Lasith Malinga captured five for 53 as the middle-order imploded in the first game of the one-day series.

Sri Lanka as a team are a work in progress after the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan and their commercial struggles.

The fact that they dealt so easily with the South African attack on quicker, bouncier wickets must be a source of concern for the South African management.

South Africa will still be in the dark about the fifth and sixth bowler. It should be Kallis and JP Duminy, with Albie Morkel the man used as an executioner between overs 40 to 50.

The management’s decision to move De Villiers up and down the order is a silly and futile exercise.

He is arguably the best one-day batsman in the world, perhaps even better than Hashim Amla.

Why would you keep the best rugby player in the world on the substitute bench for 60 minutes if you are a Springbok-management group?

Therefore, as a South African cricket team, messrs Gary Kirsten and company should let De Villiers bat at number four and use Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and Morkel at five, six and seven.

Botha should fulfil a role at number eight while Steyn, Morkel and Tsotsobe should be nine,10 and Jack.

With only weeks to go before the New Zealand cricket tour starts, there is still no certainty about the wicket-keeping role, but there are strong rumours that Mark Boucher will be replaced, although Kirsten and Smith are strongly opposed to the move as they feel an experienced wicketkeeper is needed in New Zealand, England and Australia this year.

Dominance in test cricket

Meanwhile, the way in which England imploded to defeat within three days against Pakistan in the first test, is a demonstration of a widely held belief that no team in the world is currently dominating test cricket.

Australians were very outspoken after they won the test series comprehensively against India, yet the Baggy Greens recently only shared a test series at home against New Zealand.

And, the Australian batting order is far from settled. Their topsy-turvy batting and inconsistency in the order should be a source of concern to Mickey Arthur, their new coach.

They suddenly boast at least seven fast bowlers of quality.

England have one of the best bowling attacks in the world, but their top-order were at  sixes and sevens against the Pakistan spinners, and they simply could not impose themselves.

The top order is one area in which South Africa , however  have excelled recently, with Kallis, Amla and De Villiers all superb away from home. Amla scored an undefeated 253 on Indian soil, and De Villiers smashed an SA-record score away from home against Pakistan.

Fanie Heyns