LEFT ARM OVER
NEIL MANTHORP: The role of luck, or what might have been for Nic Pothas?
It is often said that Nic Pothas was about five minutes away from a 10-year international career when Ali Bacher followed a hunch and persuaded the selectors to opt for the youth and untested potential of Mark Boucher. Today, at the ages of 41 and 44, the difference between Boucher and Pothas seems entirely inconsequential. It should have been at 21 and 24, too, but it wasn’t. One man’s gut feel led to Boucher playing 147 Test matches and 295 ODIs while Pothas played three ODIs in strange (but fun) Triangular series against Pakistan and New Zealand in Singapore after Boucher cut his thumb with a biltong knife. There is a popular and romantic notion that the cream always rises to the top in sport, but often that is not the case. Often it has to be drawn to the top and even more often the role of luck is vital. Just as supporters are influenced in their view of players by a host of internal and external factors, so are selectors. They may try to keep an open mind, they may even believ...
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