While the debate continues to rage around the Proteas’ T20 World Cup squad — specifically the inclusion of Tony de Zorzi ahead of the in-form Ryan Rickelton — South African legend Vernon Philander has come out to bat for the dreadlocked left-hander.
Critics of De Zorzi’s inclusion have pointed to SA20 statistics in a head-to-head comparison, highlighting season averages and strike rates where MI Cape Town’s Rickelton clearly holds the edge. De Zorzi, who featured for Durban’s Super Giants and Sunrisers Eastern Cape in his two seasons, has struggled to match those numbers.
Rickelton has become the first batter to score multiple centuries in South Africa’s premier domestic T20 competition, topping this season’s batting chart with 324 runs at an impressive average of 54.
Furthermore, De Zorzi hasn’t played since the India tour in December, where he tweaked a hamstring in the second ODI. However, Philander feels that runs at international level may have been the decisive factor in coach Shukri Conrad’s thinking. In his 18 T20Is so far, Rickelton has scored 381 runs at a modest average of 21.16.
“If you look at international cricket, I think it’s a harsh place from time to time, and Ryan Rickelton came out himself saying he hasn’t had the year that he wanted in terms of the runs that he needed to score at international level.
“At the end of the day, I think Shukri Conrad is a guy that’s going to pick players on merit,” the former Proteas seam bowler said. “The coach believes he’s got a better chance of winning the World Cup with Tony.”
The Hollywoodbets ambassador was speaking at an Africa Cup of Nations semi-final watch party in Durban on Wednesday, where Liverpool legend Michael Owen was announced as the latest member of the betting company’s ambassadorial team.
The T20 World Cup will take place from 7 February until 8 March in India and Sri Lanka. Philander feels that conditions on the subcontinent suit De Zorzi’s game more than those of stroke-players like Rickelton.
“I think Tony is a naturally aggressive player and you need those kinds of characters come the subcontinent. He really loves the ball under his eyes; he’s got low hands, so I think Tony in the subcontinent is probably a better-suited player than most of the Highveld players where we see the guys trying to be technically correct and trust the bounce,” he said.
“In the subcontinent, you’re not going to have the bounce to work with, so I think Shukri’s probably gone on the basis that Tony could be a lot more suited to playing spin in the subcontinent and to be able to play the turning ball.”
The last World Cup’s beaten finalists face Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand, and the UAE in the group phase of the showpiece, which will be preceded by a four-match T20 series against the visiting West Indies.
“Afghanistan is probably going to be one of our biggest challenges, playing in Ahmedabad where the ball will turn. And, of course, they’ve got four world-class spinners in their attack, so it’s going to be a challenge for our boys. But I do feel with the momentum gained on the Test arena, there’s so much for the guys to feed off,” Philander said.
The first T20 against the West Indies takes place at Boland Park in Paarl on 27 January.
