Arthur casts net far and wide

4 September 2008

Mickey Arthur and Graeme Smith face a tough challenge rebuilding the one-day side

South Africa may have to conduct a Kolpak raid of English-based resources to revitalise their one-day team following an embarrassing NatWest Series blank.

The tourists yesterday concluded a trip headlined by the Test series victory they craved over England with a washed-out limited-overs finale in Cardiff.

That no-result confirmed a 4-0 defeat which left coach Mickey Arthur with much to ponder as he tries to resurrect the fortunes of a team who two weeks ago were a proud second in the world rankings.

They remain the closest contenders behind world champions Australia, but only by a whisker from Kevin Pietersen’s resurgent England.

If they are to protect their status, Arthur appears well aware that South Africa urgently need to unearth some latent talent - and there have been plenty of indications in the English domestic scorecards that the potential is there, among players who had begun at least to think that their country did not need them.

“When you lose quality players it is not just to the side and the depth but to the standard of domestic cricket. You need those guys playing domestic cricket at home,” said Arthur, lamenting the loss of the likes of key all-rounder Shaun Pollock in recent months.

Pollock’s retirement and the unavailability of potential replacements - such as Kent’s Ryan McLaren, who had vowed to pursue international ambition in England - have left the South Africa cupboard far from cluttered.

“I’ve kept my eye on exactly who’s done what (in county cricket),” Arthur added. “There are a couple of guys who have probably moved on from where we are at the moment, but there are certainly one or two we would like to get back in our system.”

South Africa have struggled to replace the likes of Shaun Pollock, who retired this year

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“I’ve spoken very briefly, maybe not to them but to people who are close to them. We’ll see what happens.”

Whatever Arthur and his board’s intentions, there is little doubt there are gaps to be filled in a line-up outplayed by England over the past two weeks.

“We sometimes almost played with 12 or 13 players, because we had players who were multi-skilled,” Arthur reminisces of recent successful campaigns.

“We don’t have those type of players at the moment, so we’re going to have to develop some - and we’re also going to have to maybe go back the way of the specialists.

“Sometimes it’s felt like we’ve played with 10 men and England have played with 12 this series.”

Players such as Middlesex’s Vernon Philander and Justin Ontong - the latter chosen for the Cardiff match which was restricted by rain to just three inconclusive overs - have been mooted as possible successors to Pollock, Andrew Hall and Justin Kemp.

None has yet fulfilled the brief, but Arthur hopes the hard-hitting Albie Morkel, incapacitated by an untimely injury at present, could yet prove a match-winning international all-rounder of the future.

“I’m just sorry you didn’t see Albie here because he has the ability to hit the ball out of the ground, and to bowl 10 overs,” Arthur said.

“That’s where we’re heading towards with our next all-rounder, but we need depth in that department too.”

Arthur, linked with a move to coach in county cricket next summer depending on South Africa’s fortunes in a high-profile winter, knows he has made mistakes as well as good decisions against England.

All-rounder Albie Morkel will play a central role in South Africa's limited-overs future

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“We compartmentalised the (one-day and Test) tours,” he admitted. “We had goals and objectives set for our Test team, which I think we conquered.

“In the Tests we are very, very excited by what we have achieved. We knew it was going to be hard-going in the one-dayers at the start, but it has been disappointing.

“We always knew the one-day team was going to be a little bit of a struggle. We lost some key personnel, and we’re trying to identify a brand again which we can play in one-day cricket.

“We need to get that brand clear and then pick players according to the brand we want to play.

“We were really successful in one-day cricket with the personnel we had - and we had a brand we played. We maybe need to refine that brand.”

Wherever the new blood comes from to reinvigorate a squad robbed of injured captain Graeme Smith in the latter stages of the NatWest Series, Arthur appears determined to see the job through.

“We are going to have to go and find those guys, identify them and mould a team we believe can retain the standards we’ve set for ourselves over the last couple of years,” he prescribed.

“Graeme and I will make sure we are clear with where we want to go with the one-day side.

“I am sure we can pick some guys up and increase the depth in our squad. I don’t think we should put a time frame on it.”