For some months now this has really been annoying me. People often seem to think that South Africa doesn’t have many, or any, good spin bowlers.
This is totally untrue.
They do have a number of good spin bowlers coming through the ranks at domestic level, the problem is they don’t seem able to get a single go in the international side.
Two players I will mention have been bowling well domestically for most of the season.
Yet the one player who South Africa time and time again select for their South Africa A team has more bad matches than these two players put together.
My case starts out with a leg spinner, who has been playing impressively since he was 25. He’s now 27. When I see his team is playing I get score updates to see how he is going. It’s not the same as seeing everything out in the field, but the stats don’t really lie.
His name is Shaun von Berg. He’s an all-rounder who has great numbers. He has a first class best of 7/66 at an average of 26.96 and a strike rate of 47.4. With the willow his highest score in first class cricket in 105*, with an average of 30.06, including 3 hundreds and 12 fifties.
Next on the list is another unknown player. He is an off spinner who is a late-order batsman, but is getting better with the willow and could become an all-rounder. His bowling is getting better and better and he is still only 24.
Dane Piedt is his name. His first class best is 7/92, with an average of 24.28 and a strike rate of 46.5. His highest first class score with the bat is 92, with an average of 15.38 and four 50s.
Yet Simon Harmer, 25, gets selected for South Africa A more than any of these two and gets taken more seriously for some unknown reason.
I have nothing against Harmer, his stats aren’t bad, but his bowling performances tend to drop off more often than not.
His highest first class score with the bat is 100*, with an average of 29.39, including 1 hundred and 11 fifties. His first class best with the ball is 8/72, at an average of 32.75 and strike rate of 61.1.
While von Berg and Harmer have similar stats, the player who has done more based on merit isn’t getting through the system.
If you want to be a great cricketing country you need to reward players for playing well. South Africa have uncharacteristically failed to that in this instance.
Players need a chance to prove to themselves and von Berg and Piedt deserve time in the national Test side.
Sports Nut
Roar Rookie
Dane Piedt claimed 45 wickets @19.93 strike rate of 47.7 Simon Harmer claimed 40 wickets @35.72 strike rate of 69.0 Shaun Von Berg claimed 33 wickets @28.84 strike rate of 48.9 The interesting thing is four out of the top five wicket takers from the Sunfoil Series are spin bowlers. At least Cricket South Africa seem to be doing well with rather good back up spin bowlers.
Sports Nut
Roar Rookie
Just an update for South Africa's Test Squad in Sri Lanka in July they have picked Dane Piedt and I am over the moon about this ! I am so happy it just shows you that regardless of who you are if you take bags of wickets at a good rate and average then more often than not you will not be ignored in South Africa. Cricket Australia needs to do the same but the problem is they won't. I am wrapped to see Stiaan van Zyl finally get a go after making lots of runs also. Dane Piedt claimed 45 wickets @19.93.
Sports Nut
Roar Rookie
You are on the money with that I can think of three that got neglected and called it quits. Thandi Tshabalala, Paul Adams and Wiann van Zyl. Thandi Tshabalala had people talking about him being the next big thing but it never happened instead he played some matches for South Africa back in 2007 but he didn't perform in those too well. In 2011 he didn't get a new contract with his franchise team and he retired at age 26. Wiann van Zyl had a simular fate but he just went missing and vanished at age 23. Paul Adams kept on having issues of bowling badly towards the end of his career and no one was working alongside with him and he retired at age 31. Thanks Matthew Buxton.
Sports Nut
Roar Rookie
That sounds a lot like me being Australian but following South Africa Internationally. Like you being South African but following Australia and or New Zealand because of your own reasons. Obviously I am into domestic Cricket in South Africa as well but yet I still also follow the domestic competitions in Australia and as I seem to witness them seeing them play either in person or on the television. Thanks for your kind words SAFFA28.
Matthew Buxton
Roar Pro
I agree. The spinners they've had over the years have been class but they get neglected and overshadowed by the South Africans world class deadly pace bowling attack
SAFFA28
Guest
Agree , I am passionate about SA cricket but don't support SA crick or Rugby. Support AUS and NZ in any form of sport. Cheers and thanks for the great article
Sports Nut
Roar Rookie
Steve O'Keefe is much better in the longer formats. And all I know is there will come a time when they will need to reward his fine performances.
Sports Nut
Roar Rookie
I do agree with lots that you have said SAFFA28. To me I think stats don't lie but it looks like that is the case sometimes. All I can hope for is for those three players to keep on doing well and finding form. And with any luck if one starts to fail but the other two are performing that they get noticed. I could be wrong but maybe as we speak the selectors could be aware of Von Berg and Piedt. Robin Peterson won't be around too much longer which has to be a good thing, don't get me wrong the guy has proven me wrong a number of times. One thing I know for sure about Von Berg is that he has the smarts to keep on plugging away even though some of his overs goes for runs and he tightens up and before too long he gets a break through. I think you may as well give Harmer the gig at Tests and see what he has got and in the meantime you select both Von Berg and Piedt for South Africa A and keep checking on there progress. It is great to see someone else other than me is passionate about Cricket in South Africa.
Deep Thinker
Guest
O'keefe is not much of a one day bowler. He should be around the test team but not ODI team
SAFFA28
Guest
@ Sports Nut , I wouldn't mind seeing all 3 of them in games for SA A to be honest. Unfortunately its not a perfect world and this would never happen. I would in all honesty love to see Von Berg in the limited overs setup and Harmer in the Test setup. What Im getting at is that stats are not always a fair reflection of a players capabilities and talent. You could have a great talented spinner in a team with an average Captain and team mates which will cost him dearly on stats! Where you could have an average spinner in a great team with a great Captain ,this average spinner would at the end of the season more than likely walk away with better stats to his name. So which one of the 2 do you pick then for the SA A or SA side? This is where the selectors needs apply there expertise and pick the talented spinner in a weak or underperforming side instead of an average spinner in a performing side. I believe the selectors are on the right path with Harmer, but I will not close the door on Von Berg or Piedt but I still feel that they will not cut it at International level. 2 Examples Richards Levi , still smashing teams on the Domestic stage but still wont cut it on foreign ground or International stage. Beuran Hendricks, leading domestic T20 wicket taker for the last season. 80% of his wickets came due to pressure being build by a great bowling attack, he was rarely part of building the pressure, he was just the lucky recipient of the wickets due to the rest of a great bowling attacks pressure. He got selected for SA T20, the first thing I said, If the SA attack does not build pressure on the batsmen then BH will fail ,and he did. The better pick would of been Kyle Abbott which in an average bowling line up performed remarkably well and bowled extremely accurate at the death.
Sports Nut
Roar Rookie
That is interesting indeed SAFFA28. Could it be though that maybe Piedt and Von Berg haven't had the chance at the higher level? I guess you could mean Harmer is the only one who has played for South Africa A so that would be the higher level. And maybe that is why his Franchise team also made him captain as well. But I would argue to you though that when I am watching Harmer and Von Berg more often than not in this year or late last year to me Von Berg would more often than not out bowl Harmer. Maybe one way they could try fixing this is by playing two of them who are all-rounders in South Africa A and see who does better and who knows maybe they would work well in tandem together a Leg Spinner and an Offie at the other end. I just thought of poor old Thandi Tshabalala who was meant to be the next big thing but his first class stats kept on creeping higher and higher with the ball until one day his Franchise team released him. I still think Von Berg and Piedt are still playing fairly high level though. Have you seen these three players at a match in person seeing how well they go? I am only asking because I haven't, I only judge on what I see with score updates and who got the wickets.
SAFFA28
Guest
watched a major junior tournament 2 weeks ago. I took notice of a boy with a lot of hype around him. During the tourni you could see there is some good solid technique but there was barely any runs with this boy. While they where playing the weak teams every one in the team cashed in on runs and wickets except for the boy with all the hype around him. So why the Hype? Overrated? Its only when they started playing the stronger teams in the tourni when the Hype was justified! This boy kept his team in the game with exceptional batting ,scoring runs where the rest of his team failed to do so, taking wickets when the rest of the attack failed to do so. At the end of the tourni this boys stats did not look as good as some of his team mates but when the big matches came he was literally the only one that could compete. He was just able to perform at a level higher than the rest. This is the same with Harmer\Piedt and Von Berg. Piedt and Von Berg looks better on paper on domestic level but Harmer will be the only one between the 3 that will succeed at International Level!
JGK
Roar Guru
I think if SAf cricket produced someone of the talent of Warne it would still have no idea how to nurture them into an international cricketer.
JGK
Roar Guru
Who's best ever? South Africa's - the country that produced the likes of Tayfield, Schwarz and Voegler?
JGK
Roar Guru
Yep.
Getoverit
Guest
you have no clue what you're talking about
Shouts Chen
Guest
Faf du Plessis is the most underrated bowler in Test Cricket. He didn't take any wickets at that time.
Sports Nut
Roar Rookie
As a Victorian and not a New South Welshman it hurts me to say this but I am amazed that Steve O'Keefe isn't even playing for Australia. You would think he will replace someone like a Doherty now in the ODI squad. Also don't forget Muirhead but I think because he is younger you shouldn't rush him. O'Keefe all the way.
Sports Nut
Roar Rookie
Johnno you are right but they had to play him to see if he was any good, I mean also they had to pick him just because of those numbers and he had at the time Warne like numbers in Domestic cricket. He is doing well in the shorter forms but in Tests of course he may have ran out of chances. Also he does have age against him now which you wouldn't think would help his cause.
Sports Nut
Roar Rookie
Yes you are right about Dale Deeb he is another one. As you see there does seem to be a fair few of them.