Dramatic drop in franchise cricket standards is a problem

The stark truth about South African sport is that even when we’re aware of structural issues, we still fail to truly face reality.

A perfect example of that was the build-up to last night’s first T20 between the Proteas and Australia at the Wanderers.

Regardless of last night’s result, we – as fans and observers – went into the game with cautious optimism.

Kagiso Rabada, Faf du Plessis and Anrich Nortje are back in the squad. AB de Villiers is slated for a return somewhere in the coming months and results haven’t been too damaging.

Whether we took it to heart or not, national bowling coach, Charl Langeveldt gave us pause for reflection.

This week, he was asked about the Proteas’ death bowling woes.

He was candid and balanced, noting that his troops didn’t really step up against England and were given “homework” of sorts in trying to figure out their own ways to execute better.

Yet he also expressed his concern for how domestic cricket is not preparing potential internationals for pressure situations.

Death bowling is a skill that can be practised, but landing six yorkers in a row in the nets means very little in a match situation. There’s so little context in a training session.

On game day, so many other factors come in that you have to keep your wits about you if you’re going to replicate what you’re doing in the nets.

The problem is the dramatic drop in the standard of franchise cricket.

George Linde, Delano Potgieter, Sibonelo Makhanya and Marko Marais – all men currently occupying death-hitting slots at their franchises – aren’t Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali or Alex Carey.

We can tell ourselves Brexit will mean an end to the Kolpak exodus, but it’s highly likely that those agreements will merely be amended to reflect a larger overseas player quota for the counties.

Importantly, how many Kolpak bowlers are really still of true international class? Maybe Simon Harmer, Kyle Abbott and Duanne Olivier.

A prolonged drought lies ahead.

Heinz Schenk. Picture: Michel Bega

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.