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Pick Parny for Proteas

So, according to Kepler Wessels’ regular blog he writes for Supersport, word in the Protea camp is that Wayne Parnell along with Robby P will be in the first 11 come the 1st test against Australia. I was actually surprised when I read that as I thought McLaren will probably be the favourite newby to break into the Test 11 coz I had my reservations about picking Parny but the more I simmered with the thought of giving the young lefty another shot, the more I liked it.

Lets look at the cons & pros about selecting Parnell shall we:

Cons:

    Inexperience: He only got 3 test caps behind his name & hasn’t played at this level for a long time so I’ve no doubt that (apart from Robby P) the Ozzies will target him to accumulate some runs
    No specialist nr.7  batter: If Parny plays, that means there will be no place for a specialist nr.7 batsman and the way Johnson & co went about their business in the in the Ashes, having only 6 specialist batsmen could backfire badly
    Consistency: That’s one word you unfortunately can’t associate with Parnell which could put pressure on the other 3 seamers in the team

Now for the Pros

    Variety & pace: I could be wrong but think the last time we had lefty that can bowl with pace was probably the man in question back in 2010 so having that option could be hugely beneficial for the Proteas
    Footmarks: As a lefty he could create some decent footmarks for our spinners to work with which in turn can create problems for their right-handed batsmen
    A potential 30 – 50 run candidate: Parny is no slouch with the bat as suggested by his 7 First class 50’s & 2 List A centuries so along with Robby P & Big Vern, they have the potential to either bat us out of trouble, bat out time or extend our lead in quick time
    The X factor: Parny might be inconsistent & inexperienced at test level but he does possess a x-factor that our other bowlers doesn’t have. It’s actually very exciting to not know if this guy is going to pick up 2 or 3 quick wickets or go for 12 – 15 in 1 over.
    Potential Protea great: Saying it’s still early days when it comes to Wayne Parnell is definitely an understatement but there’s no doubt that this kid has the talent & potential a great bowling all-rounder let alone pace bowler.
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