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Kepler calls for new coaches

Cape Town - Former South African captain Kepler Wessels feels the Proteas should get new coaches in the shorter format of the game.

As it happened: SA v India


In his regular column on the supersport.com website, Wessels was left disappointed at the strategies employed by the Proteas in their ICC World Twenty20 campaign in Bangladesh.

The Proteas were knocked out at the semi-final stage when India beat them by six wickets in Dhaka on Friday.

"It was, unfortunately, once again crystal clear that, as far as strategy is concerned, in the shortest version of the game the Proteas are some way behind the leading teams. The point that the brains trust refuse to accept is that impact players, with either bat or ball, have to be put into positions consistently where they can influence the outcome of the match," wrote Wessels.

"Let's look at India for instance. Virat Kohli is their match winner with the bat. He bats at No 3 all the time. He wins matches for India regularly because he faces enough deliveries to impose his considerable skill set on the opposition.

"At top level in international T20 cricket there is no room for the run-a-ball innings. South Africa get fixated at times by one batsman playing an anchor role and feeding the strike to whoever they believe the in-form batsman at the other end is. This can only work if the batsman dominating is on an absolute roll and destroying the opposition attack."

In this instance, Wessels feels that AB de Villiers should bat at No 3 for South Africa in order to spend as much time as possible at the crease.

Wessels also questioned the Proteas' decision not to bowl Dale Steyn up front. India, chasing a tough 173 for victory on Friday, had the luxury of facing off-spinner JP Duminy up front.  They scored 14 off the first over and never looked back in their run-chase.

He was also disappointed at the SA bowlers' lack of bowling yorkers, especially at the death.

"It is either a case of the South African bowlers not backing themselves to get this delivery right or not believing in a tested and tried formula that works.

"As bowling coach Allan Donald oversees both the tactical and the technical side of the bowling. I am not sure where he stands on this debate. It has been said that the yorker in the modern game is too predictable. It may be predictable but, when executed properly, the captain can set a field for this delivery and this minimises the risk at the end of an innings," wrote Wessels.

Wessels has therefore called for new coaching staff in limited overs cricket for the Proteas.

"The 50-over World Cup is exactly a year away. My suggestion would be that the current coaching staff continue in the Test arena but that a coaching staff that specialises in T20 and 50-over cricket takes the team forward in the shorter versions of the game.

"A number of the current coaching staff members did duty at the previous World T20 in Sri Lanka in 2012. That tournament wasn't a success either.

"It may be time for fresh ideas from a coaching group that embraces the modern T20 and 50-over format. A number of senior players retired recently, so the timing of a dynamic energetic group of limited-over coaches may be appropriate," concluded Wessels.

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