Not a single ball has been bowled yet, still I am already liking the new Shukri Conrad era.
The Proteas will officially kick off life under their new Test coach against the West Indies next week.
But already it is clear that he is taking charge and is doing things his way - I wholeheartedly agree to that.
The first, and biggest thing to my mind, the new era gave us was to scrap the selection panel.
In the words of Cricket South Africa: “As part of the restructure, the DoC [director of cricket Enoch Nkwe] also confirmed that CSA was currently reviewing the National Selection Committee procedures, and had decided to release Victor Mpitsang of his role as national convenor of selectors. The current interim structure will see the head coaches of the respective teams playing a leading role in squad selections going forward.”
Too many chefs spoil the broth and personally I didn’t eat so lekker on the concoctions of Mpitsang and his panel.
Therefore, I am overjoyed at having the coach in control of his team selection. Once you have a clear game plan, you look for the players to suit that plan and you can build the hele vision in your own head.
With a panel, there is always interference and sometimes that’s not the best thing for the team. The panel doesn’t always buy into the plan wholeheartedly and egos and personal preferences can leave a suur smaak in a coach’s mouth.
Imagine being told that you have to pick a certain player - one you clearly don’t want - and then risk upsetting your squad balance and harmony.
Those who’ve been “in the game” for a while now will remember the whole Luke Watson/ Jake White saga at the Springboks.
Anyway, back to cricket.
Shuks then made a big statement by naming Temba Bavuma as his new captain, thereby demoting Dean Elgar.
A lot has been said on this subject on social media and I respect everyone’s opinion, but there is only one that counts in this particular scenario (since the selection panel was disbanded) and that is Shukri’s.
We’ve all seen the impact he had on Temba mentally following his talk during the limited overs series. And if they have that sort of mutual respect, this could well turn out to be a superb partnership.
Besides, the captain is supposed to be an extension of the coach and his plans on the pitch, therefore you need a like-minded leader and that’s why it’s Shukri’s prerogative to choose whoever he wants.
Personally, I also believe in one captain for both ODIs and Tests. The slogfest that is T20 cricket can maybe have a different skipper.
The part that really excites me the most is the third notable change - team selection.
What a brave call it was to drop Lungi Ngidi. That was the sort of decision that told me Shukri is doing things his way. Salute.
He brought in Gerald Coetzee for Ngidi, brought back Ryan Rickelton and then called up Tony de Zorzi for the first time.
Rewarding domestic form and not just picking the name-lekkers. Wonderful.
As it stands, De Zorzi has scored the second-most runs (489) in the 4-Day Challenge at an average of 122.5 in four matches, Rickelton the third-most (365) at an average of 121.66, while Coetzee is joint-sixth with 11 scalps to date.
Also, listening to Shukri, he has a clear philosophy and plan and now it’s just up to his players to execute it.
Can’t wait for Centurion Park next Tuesday.
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za