Former South Africa all-rounder Lance Klusener, at the Golden Goose Ultimate Sports coaching cricket camp here on Wednesday, acknowledged the absence of quality all-rounders in the current South African setup, adding that Chris Morris and Ryan McLaren are prospects in progress.
“The good thing about Morris is that he can bowl fast. McLaren is not as quick. They do a decent job. Having quality all-rounders allows you to find the right balance with the team combination. We haven’t really got that as of now. Morris is still finding his feet.”
Saying good all-rounders happen for a team in cycles, he attributed West Indies’s World T20 success to it. “Good all-rounders come and go in cycles. We were lucky we had Clive Rice and Brian McMillan for young all-rounders to aspire to become. That was good for us. It’s nice to see that West Indies has some good all-rounders now and that’s why I think they were able to do well in the World T20.”
He’s been watching the IPL and finds Kieron Pollard impressive among the all-rounders. “I’ve been watching the IPL. Kieron Pollard has grabbed my attention among the all-rounders.”
Saying good fielding is something that’s “non-negotiable” these days, he rated Kohli and de Villiers equally good.
“It’s hard to compare. On their day, they are both as good as the other.”
He said the advent of T20 cricket has bloated batsmen’s self-belief and doesn’t quite allow a bowler to grow in repute and command respect from them; like an Anil Kumble or Shane Warne during his time.
“To survive as a batsman in T20 cricket, one has to innovate. One cannot think: ‘Ok, Kumble’s bowling at one end, let’s block him out and take a hit at the bowler bowling from the other end.’ You need to score continuously and off everyone. The batsmen now are high on belief that they can score as much as they can.”
On what he thinks is the best ball to bowl at the death in T20 cricket, he said, “I still think the yorker is something that never gets out of date. People tend to take the pace off the ball, which is good. But there’s nothing like getting a yorker right; for me, it’s probably the best delivery.”
The 44-year-old said South Africa needs to improve its level when it comes to high-profile multi-nation events.
“I think we need to learn how to play competition cricket (multi-nation tournaments) better. When you play a bilateral series, you play five matches against the same team, which allows you to work the opposition up in time;
“I mean, you’ve got the time to do that and pull back even if you let it slack at the start of the series. In competition cricket, you have to try and win every game. That’s where I think the players need to be harder on themselves.
“I’m not saying they are not trying to win every game, but talking here about the change in mindset, the mental adjustment that they need to make.”
