The Proteas will go into the crucial one-day series against England without three of their top run-scorers in the domestic 50-over competition this season, and Ryan Rickelton, in particular, must feel like an unwanted man at national level.
South Africa’s 16-man squad for the three games against England was announced on Wednesday and Rassie van der Dussen is back, replacing Rilee Rossouw, but there is no place for Rickelton, while Tristan Stubbs was dropped and Tony de Zorzi was also overlooked.
Van der Dussen has been in his best ODI form, averaging 79 last year at a strike-rate of 100. Janneman Malan, however, has retained his place despite averaging just 24 in the last twelve matches of the year, at a strike-rate of 68.
Rickelton, the convenor of selection Victor Mpitsang confirmed on Wednesday eligible for selection as a top-order batter, scored 452 runs at an average of 64 and a strike-rate of 103 to top the charts in the One-Day Cup, won by his team, the Central Gauteng Lions .
The exciting Stubbs, who has yet to play an ODI but was part of the squad that lost to India in October, finished second with 361 runs at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 97. De Zorzi, the top performer. like Rickelton and Malan, third with 360 runs at an average of 51 and a strike rate of 98.
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“Ryan has performed really well over the last summer and he’s been the opening batsman for a good number of times,” Mpitsang said. “But we can’t bring him into the 16-man squad.
“We have definitely talked to him about his plans and the West Indies series. Because we are playing at home, the medical staff said his ankle is not at high risk and he is fit.
Another change in the squad is Sisanda Magala, who continues to justify his position as one of the main white bowlers in the country, replacing Andile Phehlukwayo, while the in-form Bjorn Fortuin has been left out as South Africa will enter the series with only two front spinners.
Commercial success
With South Africa having opted out of the series against Australia instead of concentrating on making the SA20 a commercial success, they need to win the series against world champions England to keep their hopes of automatic qualification for the World Cup alive later in the year.
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“This is a very important series and we have a balanced squad, with good experience so we can build a strong base,” Mpitsang said. “We need to win a minimum of four games against England and the Netherlands to guarantee qualification.”
Proteas ODI squad
Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Reeza Hendricks, Sisanda Magala, Tabraiz Shamsi, Marco Jansen , Janneman Malan.