Spin fingers crossed

South Africa have it all, except what really matters in this part of the world: a good spin option

In the highly unpredictable world of cricket, it is said that a player is as good as his last knock. Going by that rule, the reading on South African captain Graeme Smith8217;s morale-o-meter would be exceptionally high. His last ODI knock 8212; 55 balls, 90 runs 8212; came on March 12, 2006, that historic day at Wanderers when Smith8217;s men showed the world that a score of 434 could be chased. So what if the rivals were wearing yellow?

When Smith walks out at the CCI grounds on October 16 to take on New Zealand in their opening game of the Champions Trophy, he would have the confidence of a man who would even consider a 300-plus on the scoreboard as modest. With a highly talented batting order that includes the likes of Kallis, Gibbs, AB de Villiers and Dippenaar, Mt 300 or Mt 400 seems to be in their range. Add to that the typically South African kind of all-rounder 8212; players who can run in to bowl pace at the same pad-up length and get useful runs down the order 8212; run-making isn8217;t an issue.

But the big question is: Can just batsman, all-rounders and pacers help a team win a multi-national tournament in the sub-continent?

The last big tournament that India hosted was the 1996 World Cup and if you check the list of main wicket-takers then, the answer to the above question is an emphatic 8216;NO8217;. One of the major factors that helped Arjuna Ranatunga lift the World Cup was the performance of their spinners 8212; specialists and part-timers. Of a total of 33 wickets that Lanka took during the event co-hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, 26 were shared by Muralitharan, Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva and Dharmasena.

With the nature of the pitches in the sub-continent no different even after a decade and with 8216;slow and low8217; written all over the 22 yards even today, South Africa will feel the spin pinch.

Left-armer Robin Peterson is the lone slow bowler of repute 8212; a bit domestic, not quite international yet. He played two ODIs against India last year but the kind of confidence Smith has in him can be gauged from the fact he didn8217;t get a single over as he was used as a super sub. With the other known left-armer Nicky Boje not in the squad, Peterson will be the lone man in the empty spin department.

With a serious spin scarcity, South Africa8217;s Plan B for glory in the sub-continent will depend on the bits and pieces pace all-rounders like Andrew Hall, Langeveldt and Kemp, who will bowl the all-important middle overs. Their effectiveness on the dead tracks will hold the key since strike bowlers like Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel and Shaun Pollock aren8217;t expected to run through sides or even get early breakthroughs all the time.

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So Smith can walk on to field with a swagger on the strength of chasing a world record score, but the occasional offie will have his spinning fingers crossed.