Selective thinking

I say well done to the South African cricketers. I also commend the sterling work done by Ray Jennings. Those of you who have closely followed the series in India can be proud of your charges. The turn around in basically every aspect of the game is remarkable. The fight has returned, the passion, the enjoyment and, most importantly, the strategy.

In fact, the performances during this series have made me sit back and wonder what the hell has been going on in the past 12 months! What was the coaching staff about! Let's face facts. That is basically the only thing that has changed. For a squad that was considered no-hopers to come to India and compete stead-fastly in the fashion that they did was commendable. Especially considering they did not have a spinner to turn to. The senior players covered those cracks as best they could but the deciding factor was that Kumble and Harbhajan consistently found them.

How could the selectors even begin to think that a front-line spinner of quality was not required. Players such as Ontong and Peterson needed an out-and-out tweaker. The Titans' Paul Harris would have been a much preferred option and I amazingly hear rumours that that is exactly what Smith and Jennings wanted. While I am on the soap box, think about this. How much of a difference would Mark Boucher's batting have made on that last day of the series or even in the first innings of the final test when it was imperative to get 400 after winning the toss?

You can be assured that the missing intensity has returned and there is a new-found attitude of maturity exuding from the squad. The jigsaw puzzle is coming together, but wouldn't it be nice if those who marshall the troops on the park had the personnel they desired.