Sunday, June 29, 2025
spot_img

Return of Steyn gives South Africa a sharper edge

Date:

Share post:

spot_imgspot_img

By Sunil Gavaskar

 South Africa have done very well to come back after their loss to India in the opening encounter of the Champions Trophy.

The return of Dale Steyn to the attack certainly gives them a sharper edge than in the first couple of games when he was absent.

Morne Morkel’s injury is also a blow because they do not have the experienced Jacques Kallis to back them up in case one of their bowlers is getting a hammering.

The performance of Ryan McLaren with both bat and ball has been the highlight of their campaign and it shows what an extended run in the playing eleven can do to the confidence of a player.

McLaren’s left-handed batting at the top of the tail is taking the Proteas to scores that did not look possible earlier.

The South African batting still depends on their skipper AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla. But they have a good supporting cast in Colin Ingram, David Miller Faf Du Plessis and JP Duminy.

Ingram has grabbed the opportunity of the opening spot to play some commanding innings, but the others have still not quite fired. When they get going South Africa will have a formidable total on the board.

Run outs are part and parcel of the limited-overs game as batsmen try to steal the extra run but Duminy’s judgement has not always been good in this tournament and another misjudgment from him could well prove costly.

De Villiers has used the spinners quite well and rotated the bowling between Peterson and Duminy. South Africa’s fielding remains top class and so they will always be making the opposition struggle for runs.

England have also recovered well after the loss to Sri Lanka despite putting a near 300 total. Jimmy Anderson remains their main weapon and when he bowls well England looks a completely different team.

The batting at the top of the order is a little bit of a concern since they do take their time and overs to get going and down the order they have some handy hitters who don’t always get the number of overs that would help them make an impact.

England are still a batting unit that approaches the 50 overs game in the old fashioned way of looking to keep wickets in hand till the final overs and that’s why they sometimes end up 30 or 40 runs shorter than they should have.

Their big advantage is that they have bowlers who are no rabbits with the bat and so they bat deep and that should stand them in good stead when a few runs are required.

If the weather holds it should be a game to watch out for.

spot_imgspot_img

Related articles

Suma Uike, a changemaker from MP shines in PM Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’

Bhopal, June 29 : The 123rd episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'...

From WHO to ILO, PM Modi highlights India’s achievements in health, social security

New Delhi, June 29 :Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India is steadily advancing across sectors, especially...

Kolkata law college rape case: Questions surface why accused not named in FIR

Kolkata, June 29 : Questions have started surfacing on why just "initials" of the three persons accused of...

Uncertainty looms over education of 3,500 Dalit students in Aligarh, claims Mayawati

Lucknow, June 29 : Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Sunday raised questions over the "scholarship problems" faced...