‘The problem lies with Walter’

Former Proteas Herschelle Gibbs and Johan van der Wath believe coach Rob Walter is to blame for South Africa’s white-ball woes in bilateral series.

A second-string India team on Friday hammered the Proteas by 135 runs at the Wanderers to win the T20I series 3-1.

While Walter took the Proteas to this year’s T20 World Cup final, they have lost five out of seven T20I series under him, with 16 defeats and just four victories. They also drew a series with minnows Ireland.

“Walter’s departure must be close. In other countries, the axe would have already fallen,” Gibbs told Rapport newspaper.

No improvement

“Our skills haven’t improved under him. Our bowling is one-dimensional. If plan A doesn’t work, you have to have a plan B. We don’t have that plan. Australia use the yorker early rather than a late option. But we refuse to do that.

“It has to be asked whether there is a need for fresh, younger faces in the top order,” Gibbs added. “Reeza Hendricks’ hitting game is very limited in the power play. And Aiden Markram has been struggling for some time.”

Captain Markram scored just 48 runs in the series at an average of 12.00. In 18 T20I matches this year, he’s made 249 runs at an average of 15.56 and a strike rate of 119.71 with a top score of 46.

Van der Wath agreed with Gibbs that Walter had to take responsibility for the team’s performances.

“Walter’s management skills are so poor that he cannot get the best out of the players. He must start coming under intense pressure, because the problem lies with him,” he told Rapport.

“Walter hides behind the fact that he wants to give exposure to more players and consequently doesn’t give Kagiso Rabada, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and your other best players a chance to play regularly. It’s a lame excuse.”

When asked about his rotation policy, on Friday, Walter said: “The reality is some players are given a break before the Tests [against Sri Lanka] because South Africa wants to qualify for the World Test Championship final. That’s why we rest players like Kagiso. At the same time, we have to cast the net wider to give more players opportunities.”

Transformation targets have also played a part in team selection. Asked to explain why seamer Ottniel Baartman did not play against India, Walter said: “It’s because we want to give exposure to [black Africans] Lutho Sipamla and Nqaba Peter. It’s a balancing act. Everyone has to play their part to help the team transform and make it more representative.”

This article was first published on sacricketmag.co.za. It is republished here with permission.