South Africa have named a provisional squad for ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, from which here are key takeaways.

Temba Bavuma is set to lead South Africa at his first World Cup in the 50-over format, in India later this year. They announced a provisional 15-member squad on September 5, and have until September 28 to finalise the names.

South Africa provisional squad for World Cup 2023

Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Gerald Coetzee, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Aiden Markram, Tabraiz Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj, Sisanda Magala

Of the first eight teams to become ICC Full Members, South Africa are the only ones to have never qualified for a World Cup final, something they will want to amend. Here are the key talking points from the squad announcement.

Too many first-timers…

There are fewer World Cuppers in the South African squad than first-timers, so it is easier to list the former. In the current squad, de Kock, Miller, van der Dussen, Rabada, Ngidi, Markram, and Shamsi are the only ones to have played a World Cup match till date; and only de Kock and Miller have played in two editions, in 2015 and 2019.

Bavuma himself leads this inexperienced octet of World Cup debutants. While that is a concern, it may also be a blessing in disguise, for only a handful will bear memories of the debacle of 2019, when they finished seventh in the league stage.

… but familiarity with the conditions

While lacking in World Cup experience, several South Africans do have the advantage of having played in India. Barring Bavuma, Coetzee, Maharaj, and Hendricks, the others have all featured in the IPL.

Additionally, South Africa toured India for eight T20Is and three ODIs across two recent trips. They are certainly familiar with the conditions.

Lack of all-rounders makes picking an XI tricky

Jansen is not merely an all-rounder but the only bonafide all-rounder of the squad. Assuming he plays every match, South Africa will have to fit in six batters including the wicketkeeper and four other bowlers.

True, Markram bowls off-breaks, and bowls quite often in Twenty20 cricket. But in ODIs, he has been restricted to a shade over two overs a match, and has bowled more than six overs only four times in 50 matches. If a bowler has an off day or, worse, breaks down, South Africa may be headed for problem.

On the other hand, barring Jansen, Maharaj (14.45 batting average in ODIs, 16.69 in all List A) is perhaps the closest they have to a bowling all-rounder. Or perhaps they are looking at Coetzee (23.12 in List A, two ODIs), the least likely of the fast bowlers to play. The tail is going to be long.

Interestingly, South Africa chose to not pick the bowling all-rounders Bjorn Fortuin (who would also have bolstered the spin unit) or Wayne Parnell, or the batting all-rounder Dewald Brevis, all of whom feature in their squad for the series against Australia.

Pace backed over spin

Six fast bowlers – Rabada, Nortje, Ngidi, Jansen, Magala, Coetzee – is perhaps an overkill. True, the World Cup will involve travel across a vast country, and Indian venues can be diverse in every possible way. It is also true that fast bowlers are more prone to injuries than others, making rotation important.

But then, Jansen is the only one among them who bowls left-arm, and the only one who can bat in the top eight, let alone the top seven. Could one of this phalanx been replaced with a spinner as back-up for – or if the conditions permit, along with – Maharaj or Shamsi? Or an all-rounder?

With travelling reserves to accompany the squad, perhaps.

A farewell for de Kock

De Kock will not play ODIs after this World Cup, over the course of which he will almost certainly get 34 runs and three victims to become the fifth wicketkeeper (and eighth cricketer) to the 6,000 run-200 dismissal ODI double.

It will conclude a journey spanning over a decade that will end in India, a country against whom he first rose to fame with a hundred in each of the three ODIs in the home series of 2013/14.

From 17 World Cup matches, de Kock has made 450 runs at an unflattering average of 30. He will want to boost that number before signing off.

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