Aussies hold allrounder advantage

It wasn’t often during my career that Australia had more allrounders to choose from than South Africa – in fact, it was never the case.

But the situation has turned full circle and now there seem to be too many for Australia to choose from and not enough for the Proteas.

It looks as though both squads have work to do before the start of the ICC World Cup although for different reasons, and it doesn’t have much to do with the quality of play, which has been high throughout this ODI series to date.

Instead, it looks like Australia are still trying to find out what their best squad is while South Africa is trying to find the best combinations and balance within their squad, which is a lot more settled than the Aussie one.

Some of this comes back to the allrounder issue. I guess it’s not easy being a selector and there will always be questions asked – ‘can we rely on him to bowl 10 overs?’ and ‘is he the right man to bat at No.7?’. There are doubts about plenty of players but, inevitably, more questions are raised about the allrounders because they have twice as much work to do.

Ultimately the selectors have to make their decision but, having done that, it must be backed by everyone. You can’t have a situation where the allrounder has a couple of disappointing days with bat or ball and then people start questioning whether he was the right choice. It’s a hard enough job without having people sticking the knife in!

The media is a different matter. I had good advice from an early age and it wasn’t ‘don’t read the newspapers’. You can’t hide and pretend the media doesn’t exist. The more you try to do that the more likely it is that you will hear something critical on the radio or television, or catch sight of a headline you don’t like.

It’s much easier to understand that the media have a job to inform the public but also to express an opinion. Some players have understandably had a problem with teammates moving straight into the commentary box, or writing a column, which may be a little too close to what was said in the last team meeting, but even so, they are being paid to express their opinions and the guys on the field should just let it go 99 per cent of the time. If you believe in yourself, and your teammates and captain, then it shouldn’t matter what anybody else says.

I feel for the current Proteas squad as they enter yet another ICC tournament with the prospect of being asked every day why South Africa have done so poorly in the knockout stages and why they ‘choke’ on the big occasion.

Firstly, I honestly believe the choking thing has been overplayed. It certainly has happened, nobody can deny that, but there have also been times when the opposition has played better than us – it’s as simple as that. You can’t call every defeat we suffer a choke.

Secondly, I don’t believe there is much the players can say when asked about it, and there isn’t any point in trying.

“Yes, we have a terrible record in knockout games and we’d all very much like to improve on this time.”

That should do it. 

Personally I’ve never felt fitter, stronger or more refreshed than I do now. Actually, I probably have but I was probably still a teenager. I never complained about practice or training and, most of the time I enjoyed it, although there times when it felt like a ‘duty’.

At the moment, however, with the Big Bash just around the corner, I wake up and look forward to getting to the nets – even when my body is reminding me that I’ve been doing this for over half its life!

Sydney Thunder’s record in the competition is not a realistic reflection of the talent on the field and the commitment off it. There are obviously some new faces in the squad this year and there will be a determination to start with a clean slate.

I certainly won’t be ‘scarred’ by the losses of the last couple of years. With the ever-optimistic and positive Mike Hussey in the mix and Paddy Upton as head coach, I can’t imagine there will be room for any negative thinking.

Having been part of two successful IPL campaigns with the Kolkata Knight Riders I hope I can share a few ‘secrets’ about what it takes to win over the course of a month, how to maximise your chances of maintaining a winning streak and identifying the ‘key moments’ in a game – and they don’t always come at the end of the innings.