Article to be published in The Times Tuesday

WHAT SA MUST DO TO WIN THE WORLD CUP

By FRANK HEYDENRYCH
At international level, cricket is about marginal moments – those when cricketers produce a magical delivery, take a sensational catch or engineer a runout. These miracle moments seldom relate to batting, which should be a steady, reliable progression to setting or meeting a target.
Instead, the magical, marginal moments occur on the side of bowlers and fielders. (And here, for a moment, let us forget that we were unable to chase down a target of 191 on a ground where we once breezed past 434.)
For South Africa to win the World Cup next month, they need fielders and bowlers who can engineer these magical, peripheral moments.
Unfortunately, all indications are that South Africa have lost that killer ability. And unless they regain it, we will find, again, that one of the most potent one-day outfits ever assembled will choke and be on its way home before the final.
The context of this side is enormous: of the top five batsmen, four are averaging 50 over the last year: Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy. The opening bowlers are widely regarded as the world’s best, and in Lonwabo Tsotsobe they have the best emerging one-day bowler in the world. Johan Botha is unquestionably a fine one-day spinner, and there are a number of young tyros coming through, such as David Miller and Colin Ingram.
But, and this is an enormous but, the fielding of the side is at its lowest ebb since Jonty Rhodes’s heyday, and unless this issue is resolved, South Africa will continue to come down on the wrong side of the hairline decisions.
Consider: The sheer number of dropped catches (five in one innings alone against India in the final Test); the number of missed runouts, or more correctly, the number of actual hits versus misses from close range; and the fumbles on the fence.
Part of the reason is that De Villiers is wicketkeeper. Mark Boucher marshalled his field in an unobtrusive manner. He was the magnet for the field, and he corralled his forces in such a way as to elevate their fielding to a sublime level. Boucher’s genius is seldom acknowledged.
It’s not hard to see why the fielding lapses have happened. Corrie van Zyl is a bowler; Duncan Fletcher is a batting consultant; and the brains trust thought that Boucher’s absence would create a gap for an additional batsman.
To have a chance of winning the World Cup, South Africa need to appoint an emergency fielding coach, such as Rhodes. Boucher needs to return behind the sticks. Duminy must not be at backward point, as he is a liability there and his attention wavers in the most critical position in one-day internationals. And the entire squad needs to understand, and internalise, that 50 overs’ fielding at the highest level of intensity is the only option.