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NEIL MANTHORP: Questions mount for World Cup as fringe players push hard for berths
The biggest quandary facing the selectors is how to bridge the gap between specialist batsmen and specialist bowlers
It is better for answers to arrive on the brink of a deadline than to have them neatly lined up well in advance only to have them questioned again moments before the exam paper needs to be handed in. There are still a few months to go until the World Cup squad is due to be named, and, although (maybe) 10 of the 15 names are inked in, the questions are mounting rather than decreasing. A month ago there might have been as many as 12 names upon whom Linda Zondi and his fellow selectors agreed. Now, four games into the Pakistan series, there are furrowed brows when even some of the long-time “bankers” are mentioned. Hashim Amla and David Miller were tattooed on to the squad list six months ago, but things may be different now with Reeza Hendricks (especially) and Aiden Markram pushing hard for an opening berth alongside Quinton de Kock — and Rassie van der Dussen staking a strong claim for a place in the middle order. The man who has done most to ensure his place has done nothing. JP Du...
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